United Rugby Championship final: Stormers v Munster,
Saturday, DHL Stadium, Cape Town, 5.30pm (6.30pm local time),
Live on TG4 and Premier Sport
Six weeks ago, when Munster went to Cape Town for the first of two games in South Africa, their most pressing need was to qualify for next season’s Champions Cup and, by extension, the URC play-offs. Now, by the most circuitous and perhaps even unlikely route imaginable, Munster are within one game of winning their first trophy in a dozen years.
What’s more, when they fronted up against the Stormers six weeks ago, Munster had just come off the back of heavy beatings by Glasgow and, in the Champions Cup Last 16, by the Sharks. Their good run of form, and unyielding defence, had suddenly capsized.
But having ended the Stormers’ 21-match unbeaten run here, and drawn with the Sharks, they became the first team in the URC for 17 months to beat Glasgow in Scotstoun in the semi-finals and then became the first away team to beat Leinster in front of fans at the Aviva since 2015, when beating their bugbears in the semi-finals a fortnight ago.
“We don’t do things easily. We’ve had some good adversarial growth, I think they call it. Our game has developed. We deserve to be here, regardless of what has happened in the domestic rounds, and in the play-offs, and we’re preparing for a final tomorrow,” said Munster coach Graham Rowntree. “We’re going to do our best to win, make sure our game is at its best in order to give us that best opportunity.”
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To some extent, this recent upturn in another rollercoaster of a season has been founded on the return of some experienced players such as Stephen Archer, RG Snyman and Conor Murray, yet there is no one real outstanding reason for such a revival.
Archer has assuredly strengthened the scrum, but Snyman only returns among a strong-looking bench after being one of those ruled out for the semi-final. But in addition to Calvin Nash, Murray and Malakai Fekitoa restore some badly needed physicality, all the more so as the Cape Stadium pitch is, sadly, not up to Grand Final standards and rain is forecast, while Jack Crowley starts at 10, with Ben Healy on the bench.
Munster have rediscovered some of their best all-in defensive strengths and old-fashioned grit in this recent run while finding a mix of tries off their lineout maul and through this season’s improved manipulation of their opponents.
The near 10,000 who wore red at the Aviva Stadium in the semi-finals and travelling Red Army of 5,000 for this final, is testament to their incredible supporter base, and how much this team has restored the faith.
“Okay, I suppose [this is] broken record stuff but we are constantly taken aback by the turnout of our supporters,” said Munster captain Peter O’Mahony. “Normally you’re talking about within Europe and it’s a relatively short distance even though it is still a huge expense but it is a long way to come and it is an expensive trip.
“Walking around our area that we’re staying in, it’s like walking around Cork or Limerick or Tipperary or someplace. You can’t turn a corner without bumping into someone. It means a huge amount to us and I’m sure it will stand to us [on Saturday].”
But if the Red Army have long since bought into Munster, the degree with which South Africa and particularly Cape Town has bought into the URC has been very striking, with the 55,000 tickets, at much-reduced prices, having sold out in under three hours.
“We could have sold 1,000-rand tickets and sold out the stadium a few times over, so I took umbrage with that because we wanted to stay close to the people,” said Stormers head coach John Dobson about their pricing strategy.
“But there’s a massive fear of letting these people down because the whole city has just embraced rugby like I’ve never seen,” added Dobson, in reference to all the schools in Cape Town wearing Stormers’ kit the day before the game.
Indeed, such has been the feverish sense of anticipation that the Stormers’ Ulster-bound Steven Kitshoff declared: “I was involved since 2011 and knockout games wise, there was 30,000 last year for the final, 55,000 this year against one of the monsters of European rugby. So yeah, I think it’s possibly the biggest game for the Stormers I’ve ever played in.”
Neither was O’Mahony of a mind to disagree.
“It’s a huge game for the club, it’s a huge game for me. Finals require a huge amount of work to get to. We’ve had a long season, gone through different patches, difficult periods. We’ve had a couple of great weeks over the last few weeks and we’ve navigated our way through, under difficult circumstances.
“I’m not going to sit here and say it’s not a massive occasion in my career for Munster, arguably the biggest. I wouldn’t disagree with Steven. It’s hard to deny when you get to finals. This is what you’ve worked for, not just for this season, but for a long part of his career and my career. They’re always big occasions. Every year, whatever team is in a final, it has to be one of your biggest.”
Munster have the capacity to win this game, and certainly to be in it for long stretches, but home advantage looks significant. The Stormers can win over scraps, such is their speed in broken play or sharpness in transition, and the return of turnover king Deon Fourie may well mean even more opportunity for game-breakers like Manie Libbok, Angelo Davids and Damian Willemse.
Stormers: Damian Willemse, Angelo Davids, Ruhan Nel, Dan du Plessis, Leolin Zas, Manie Libbok, Herschel Jantjies, Steven Kitshoff (CAPT), Joseph Dweba, Frans Malherbe, Ruben van Heerden, Marvin Orie, Deon Fourie, Hacjivah Dayimani, Evan Roos. Replacements: JJ Kotze, Ali Vermaak, Neethling Fouche, Ben-Jason Dixon, Willie Engelbrecht, Marcel Theunissen, Paul de Wet, Clayton Blommetjies.
Munster: Mike Haley; Calvin Nash, Antoine Frisch, Malakai Fekitoa, Shane Daly; Jack Crowley, Conor Murray; Jeremy Loughman, Diarmuid Barron, Stephen Archer; Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne; Peter O’Mahony (C), John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes. Replacements: Niall Scannell, Josh Wycherley, Roman Salanoa, RG Snyman, Alex Kendellen, Craig Casey, Ben Healy, Keith Earls.
Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR, 36th competition match, 1st final).
Top try scorers: Stormers – Clayton Blommetjies, Angelo Davids 6 each. Munster – Gavin Coombes 10.
Top points scorers: Stormers – Manie Libbok 208. Munster – Joey Carbery 92.
Betting (Paddy Power): 1/2 Stormers, 18/1 Draw, 7/4 Munster.
Forecast: Munster to win.
