Springbok prop Steven Kitshoff in training. Photo: Twitter
Stormers want to give Kitshoff special farewell
The Stormers are losing stalwart Steven Kitshoff at the end of the season and the team is ready to make sure he goes off in style.
Springbok prop Steven Kitshoff in training. Photo: Twitter
The Stormers are losing stalwart Steven Kitshoff at the end of the season and the team is ready to make sure he goes off in style.
Saturday’s United Rugby Championship quarter-final could be the last match at DHL Stadium for the Springbok prop. The Stormers need Leinster or Ulster to lose if Kitshoff is going to get another lap on home soil.
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“Everyone is well aware that it might be Steven’s last match at Cape Town Stadium,” said Willemse.
“And he is a big player at the franchise and (we) respect him a lot. We obviously want to do it for him. But where this team is heading and what we, as a group want, is to put in a huge performance.
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“It’s going to make us proud, the coaches, the union, and everyone that supports us. First things first is to get the win and we will definitely celebrate it.
“If it happens that results do not go our way and we don’t get to play another game with Steven at Cape Town Stadium, so be it. But for us as a group, we are focused to get our stuff right and be in the best position to win the quarter-final.”
Willemse insists the team is better than a year ago when they won the title.
“We are mentally tougher now, when you go through setbacks together and rectify the mistakes you make that definitely makes you stronger as a team. We are always looking at where we can improve our game and we did that after the two losses we had at the end of a tough month where we played a lot of tough games.
“We had some hard chats, we’ve stuck together and we feel we are growing as a unit.”
Kitshoff will pack down as captain of the Stormers alongside Frans Malherbe and Joseph Dweba in a Springbok-laden front row.
The match against the Bulls kicks off at 15:30 on Saturday, 6 May.
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