The Stormers have the chance to defend their URC crown when they take on Munster in the Grand Final at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
United Rugby Championship final
Saturday 27 May
Cape Town Stadium
Stormers 9/20 | Draw 20/1 | Munster 37/20
Handicap
Stormers (-5.5) 9/10 | Munster (+5.5) 9/10
The Capetonians have played some of the most attractive rugby out there over the course of the past two seasons and stand on the precipice of achieving something very special indeed.
John Dobson has made no secret of his intention to build a long-lasting legacy in the Cape. A win on the weekend would go a long way to advancing those ambitions.
Another championship title, in Cape Town no less, would further enhance their standing in the world game and elevate them into the pantheon of all-time great SA rugby teams – if they’re not there already.
Springboks Deon Fourie and Marvin Orie will return after missing the 43-25 semi-final win over Connacht injured, and both players will have crucial roles to play at the breakdown and lineout respectively.
Standing in their way, though, are the only side they’ve failed to beat since the competition began.
What happened when this year’s Grand Finalists last met… 👀@TheStormers 🆚 @MunsterRugby@Vodacom #URC | #UnitedWeRise | #STOvMUN | #Throwback pic.twitter.com/TKt3MKB5BW
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) May 18, 2023
Munster claimed a 34-18 win over the Capetonians in Limerick last season and inflicted a 26-24 defeat on Dobson’s men in the Mother City in April – their first loss at home since December 2021. The latter result also allowed Ulster to leapfrog the Stormers into second, an outcome that eventually saw the defending champs finish third overall.
After picking up the Thomond Park head coaching reins from Johann van Graan, it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing for Graham Rowntree early on. The Red Army lost five of their first seven URC matches this season and looked down and out as early as November, but displayed uncanny mental fortitude to power themselves to a fifth-place finish and, ultimately, fantastic playoff wins in Glasgow and Dublin.
They were helped in large part by the sending off of Tom Jordan in the Warriors clash, but their remarkable 16-15 victory over Leinster was all down to their grit and gumption and a third knockout win on the road here would surely rank among the great club’s grandest achievements.
The dramatic end to the season is all too close… @TheStormers 🆚 @MunsterRugby
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) May 22, 2023
Who will create history and rise to victory in front of 55,000 passionate fans?@Vodacom #URC | #UnitedWeRise | #STOvMUN pic.twitter.com/yYaYTSSoGL
Stat attack
Unsurprisingly, the attack-minded Stormers have made the most clean breaks (149) and offloads (228) this season, while they’ve scored the third-most tries (78) and points (607) overall.
On the flipside, they’ve also missed the second-most tackles (362) and lost the second-most turnovers (258), areas which Munster may look to exploit.
The Irish side have made the second-most offloads (215) themselves and gained the third-most meters (7507) in the competition, while their 388 missed tackles is the most of any side.
Verdict: Stormers at 9/20
Value bet: Stormers on the minus
With some barbs exchanged between the sides already, this is expected to be a particularly feisty encounter and, if their duel in April is anything to go by, will be nip and tuck for much of the eighty.
Munster proved in their last two outings that they have the stones necessary to weather, and even embrace the pressure applied by home crowds, but there should be no stopping this Stormers team come Saturday kick off.
Dobson has fostered a culture whereby his players are seemingly ready to die for the dark blue jersey and they should create more history in Cape Town.
