While Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has welcomed Connacht to the city for the all-important United Rugby Championship (URC) semi-final tomorrow, he pledged his full support for the DHL Stormers as he hopes to see the Irish team return home empty-handed.
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While the Stormers are still on track to defend their URC title, plenty of work lies ahead for the Cape Town-based team, which will go into this weekend’s semi-final cautiously optimistic about retaining the silverware.
Their latest win against the Bulls saw them guarantee a home game for their second play-off fixture.
While their demise in the final four would come as an upset, the Stormers won’t want to leave anything to chance and will be well aware of what is at stake, especially after Connacht’s impressive win last weekend.
‘To the Stormers team, I want to say that the whole city, every one of the four a half million of us, are behind you this Saturday,’ Hill-Lewis said. ‘That trophy looks good in Cape Town, and it should stay here.’
‘Seeing our captain Steven Kitshoff hoist it high above his head last year as the fans at Cape Town Stadium erupted was a thing of beauty. We’d very much like to see that again.’
‘I say that with the utmost respect to our visitors from Galway, Ireland.’
‘Connacht, you’re a very good team and most deserving of a spot in the semi-finals but unfortunately, that journey has to end on Saturday.’
‘I have no doubt you will enjoy your stay in Cape Town and take back fond memories. But the URC trophy stays here.’
‘To all Cape Town’s loyal rugby fans, let’s show our Stormers what passionate support looks like. Let’s fill up the stadium and let’s blow the roof off when they run out.’
‘Kom ons Storm saam!’
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Picture: @geordinhl / Twitter