Beating Toulon would lift spirits, says Engelbrecht

Victory over French powerhouses Toulon in Gqeberha on Saturday would give the Stormers some much-needed oomph and put fire in their bellies, loose forward Willie Engelbrecht said.

After a heartbreaking loss to the Sharks last week, the Stormers want to bounce back with a win over the Frenchmen in their opening Investec Challenge Cup clash at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (kickoff 5.15pm).

Despite the Stormers playing 750km away from their base in Cape Town, Gqeberha would be like a welcoming home away from home, Engelbrecht said.

Three-time champions Toulon will have their tails up after beating Perpignan and Bayonne in their past two Top 14 outings.

Victory over Perpignan was the seventh win from 11 matches for the former European Champions, who are in fourth place on the Top 14 log with 32 points.

“It is a home game for us in Nelson Mandela Bay,” Engelbrecht said. “The last time we played in Gqeberha, against the Dragons two years ago it was a packed crowd and they were loud.

“Winning against a side like Toulon would give any team motivation and some oomph. Unlucky is the word that has been used about the Stormers, but I feel that is starting to change.”

Engelbrecht said he expected the game to be a tough contest between the packs.

“The French and SA rugby styles are very similar because we are big players and we like the physical part of the game. I cannot say French rugby is slow, it is just hard.

“It is always a challenge to play against all the big French clubs and I think they feel the same way when they play the SA clubs.”

Regarding the Stormers’ narrow defeat to the Sharks last week, Engelbrecht said: “It will always hurt if you lose, but you take confidence from the good things that happen in the game.

“You could see our plans coming together and it was just one or two unlucky moments in the game and not the final moment [Manie Libbok’s disallowed try] that cost us the result.”

Assistant coach Rito Hlungwani said the team was excited about taking a Champions Cup game to the the Eastern Cape.

“We really hope they come out in their numbers considering we don’t go there a lot and we know some fans will travel from Cape Town to watch us,” he said.

“The team were happy with how we operated in the set pieces against the Sharks last week, but we can get better and make progress.

“We look at our processes and what we are doing well and what needs improvement. There are a couple of things we are happy with and some things we need to improve on that will take us to the next level.”

Head coach John Dobson said the team would adopt an all-out attacking mindset against Toulon.

“This result against the Sharks hasn’t changed anything for Saturday when we face Toulon in the Champions Cup,” Dobson said.