Stormers eye 'fortress' factor
Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:48
Try time: Stormers captain Jean de Villiers
Stormers captain Jean de Villiers believes his team has gained a lot of confidence from their good run-of-form at Newlands toward the end of last year's Super 14 campaign.
De Villiers, 2008's South African Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year, highlighted the importance of home victories in the Super 14 and says the Stormers are perfectly placed to build on the winning culture they created at Newlands in the latter stages of the 2008 season.
"It's something that we have been trying to build," De Villiers told rugby365.com at the High Performance Centre in Bellville on Wednesday.
"When we came back from the overseas leg we did not lose a match at Newlands.
"We also won every game in the Currie Cup with our strongest team for Western Province. So it does give us a lot of confidence," he said.
De Villiers was the Stormers' star player in 2008, which was also his first season as captain. He then starred in the Boks' Tri-Nations campaign and led Western Province in the Currie Cup before the Boks' year-end tour.
With the British & Irish Lions series looming, De Villiers is among a core group of Springboks that needs to be carefully managed.
However, the 27-year-old says he won't be asking for any sabbaticals in this year's southern hemisphere showpiece.
"It's up to the coaching staff to decide when I should get a break, but I am still feeling good," he said.
"The break during the festive season was good for me.
"I have had so many injuries over the years, so whenever I am fit I just want to be on the field."
While the Stormers experienced a terrible start in 2008, losing their first three games, the star centre hopes a positive start will ignite their title onslaught in 2009.
De Villiers believes more will be expected from the Cape franchise in 2009 after his team over-delivered on their fans' expectations in 2008 by narrowly missing out on a semi-final berth.
But he maintains the Stormers have what it takes to go all the way this year.
"We started badly last year so we want turn that around and get a good start in 2009," he said
"There is more expectation this year than there was last year, so that creates a bit of pressure.
"The challenge for us is to grow and I think we have and we want to continue doing so. This is a different year and we believe we can go all the way."
The Stormers kick off their 2009 Super 14 campaign against the Sharks at Newlands on Valentine's Day.
By Ebrahim Moerat
* Do you think the Stormers will be able to carry their good form into the 2009 S14 season?
