We’re out to make our fans smile, says Stormers’ Dayimani

Success-hungry Stormers are willing to do everything to defend their coveted United Rugby Championship (URC) title, fiery loose forward Hacjivah Dayimani says.

The Cape side will face a stern examination of their ability to lift the trophy again when they clash with a determined Connacht on Saturday.

With so much at stake, the capacity crowd at Cape Town Stadium can expect a bone-jarring encounter (kickoff 4pm).

A record crowd of 44,109 turned out to watch the Cape franchise beat the Bulls last week.

“It’s so beautiful to see a big crowd like this,” said Dayimani. “We are willing to do anything and everything to win this URC title and our main mission is Connacht on Saturday.

“That’s all we are talking about and after last week when Connacht beat Ulster, we are wary of what they are capable of.

“A few years ago, just before Covid, the stadiums felt empty and now people are rushing to watch us play,” said Dayimani.

“Our main goal is to make Cape Town smile. The people of Cape Town love rugby so much that even the car guard is telling you to please win because he bought tickets for his family to come to watch.

“In other words, it’s bigger than rugby, it’s bigger than me and you and that’s what we as the Stormers players play for.

“The number of Stormers’ jerseys you see at the taxi rank or in the city shows you the mission we are busy with.

“That’s the main reason we decided to step up last season. We give our people a reason to come and watch us play,” he said.

“The Stormers represent the diversity SA has.

“It’s been a while since Evan Roos, Deon Fourie and myself have  been on the same field at the same time so it’s something I’m looking forward to.

“We all offer something different on the field and that’s what makes us click.

“We expect a totally different battle from what we got in Stellenbosch against Connacht earlier in the season.

“We’ve seen what Connacht are capable of doing just by watching the Ulster game.”

Dayimani said they don’t expect an easy match and there was no game this season when they underestimated their opponents.

He said they’ve gone into every game “with the mindset to win”. 

“It doesn’t matter which player wears which jersey. All that matters is when you wear the Stormers jersey, you are aligned with our mission.”

Stormers coach John Dobson is expecting unfancied Connacht to come out with all guns blazing on Saturday.

“When you play in the semifinal, no matter who you play it’s going to be a very good team,” he said. “They are tough opposition, but we can feel confident.

“We prepared and trained really well for the Bulls game.

“This felt like the most pressure we have had so far. It feels like now we can get back into the groove.

“If we as defending champions had slipped up in the quarterfinals, it would have undone a lot of the good work we had done over the last year,” Dobson said.

“Now I feel the pressure is off, so let’s see what happens.”

Saturday’s semifinals: Stormers vs Connacht (Cape Town, 4pm); Leinster vs Munster (Dublin, 6.30pm).