Sanlam Boland Cavaliers head coach Hawies Fourie expects a vastly different and significantly tougher challenge from the DHL Stormers XXIII in their Carling Currie Cup clash on Sunday, 26 July 2026.
Following Boland's 24-10 victory over the Bulls XV, the message from the head coach is clear: the Cavaliers must step up their game significantly to claim the derby spoils.
Despite fielding a similar group of players to the squad they used in a recent pre-season friendly, Fourie noted that the Stormers showed a completely transformed intensity and effort during their competitive 25-19 opening-round victory over the defending champion Suzuki Griquas.
After downloading and analysing footage of the Stormers' opening match, Fourie admitted they played exceptionally well against a tough Griquas side and that they possess a highly competitive edge.
“I was busy with renovations at the stadium, so I didn’t watch the Stormers game live, but I downloaded the match last night and looked at it today,” Fourie admitted.
“We will make our plans. There are no obvious weaknesses; they played quite well against Griquas.”
Fourie said that the Stormers outfit heading to Wellington will bring a completely different physical edge than what was seen two weeks ago.
“We played the Stormers in a friendly, and it was a totally different game," said Fourie. "It was the same players, but it was a different effort [against Griquas] from the game they played against us two weeks ago."
“We know they’ll be up for it. They’ll take a lot of confidence from the win against Griquas, who are not easy to beat … ask us – we’ve lost against them five or six times in the past three years.”