DHL Stormers have adopted a philosophy where training sessions are tougher than games, a concept also associated with the Springboks, which has contributed to their strong forward pack cohesion and overall success, according to forward coach Rito Hlungwani.
This culture has been cited as a major factor in the Stormers' winning runs and their ability to withstand the physical demands of top competitions like the United Rugby Championship (URC) and Champions Cup.
This intense training culture emphasises physical conditioning and competition for places, ensuring players are prepared for the rigours of competitive matches. Training, particularly scrummaging sessions, is described as "brutal" and "aggressive," often as tough as or tougher than actual game scenarios.
“We spend Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays training against each other, and that’s actually more time than an 80-minute game; it is usually like 36 minutes of ball in play.”
“This weekend we had 18 lineouts, and 12 of those were mauls. At training, we’ll do 40 or 50 lineouts and more than 20 mauls. The cohesion is built there.”
“That cohesion and training together, that hunger to improve, is a collective mindset. The job of the guys that are not playing on Tuesday and Wednesday is to make sure they prepare and improve the guys that are playing on Saturday.”
“So there is strong alignment in the team and the squad, there are no gaps. When we work to improve on this and that, it means everyone in the squad.”
The high intensity in training fosters strong internal competition, pushing both first-choice and depth players to improve their physical benchmarks and overall performance.
“Whether you played or not, everyone watches the game, everyone reviews it,” Hlungwani said. “In meetings, anyone can be asked a question. Everyone is engaged in the process. The guys who didn’t play are often the first to speak about what we need to fix. It’s a collective mindset.”