DHL Stormers centre Dan du Plessis regards Saturday’s Investec Champions Cup clash against Sale Sharks in Cape Town as the first of two “knockout” fixtures in successive weeks.
The United Rugby Championship club are tied on four points with third-placed Sale Sharks, who are one spot ahead of them on account of a superior points difference and face a trip to Stade Français Paris in Round 4.
“These two fixtures in the Investec Champions Cup are like knockout games for us,” Du Plessis said. “You don’t want to slip up on points or lose a game and then have to rely on other teams to qualify for the playoffs.
“It’s really important that we put everything into these two games and see how the log turns out at the end of the pool stages.
“This weekend is going to be a really physical battle. Sale has a really big pack of forwards who give them ascendancy. If you don’t stop that, then they get momentum and really get going.
“They have world-class, experienced players. Those are players that you want to come up against, to challenge yourself against the best.
“They also have a few South Africans playing for them, some who have lots of experience in a DHL Stormers or DHL Western Province jersey.
“So, it’s going to be interesting facing guys who are used to playing in Cape Town. They will know the DNA of the DHL Stormers. But we are just focusing on ourselves and looking forward to a big clash.”
One of those Sale Sharks players is flanker Ernst van Rhyn, the former Junior Springboks captain, who admitted that he has mixed emotions about playing against his boyhood team.
“It’s going to be very strange,” he told Netwerk24. “And weird for my family because they’re going to have to shout for the Sale Sharks! At home, we are all loyal Stormers supporters.
“Actually, I feel it is a special opportunity to be able to return in my first season after being away, to be able to play in Cape Town against my old team in a stadium where I made memories. It’s very special and you have to experience it as such.”
Sale Sharks will be missing their England fly-half, George Ford, who has a medial cruciate ligament injury.