London Irish face tough task on South Africa trip

London Irish face tough task on South Africa trip

London Irish are looking for their first win of this year’s Heineken Champions Cup as they travel to South Africa to take on the DHL Stormers on Saturday.

Irish fell 32-27 at home to Montpellier Hérault Rugby in Round 1, while DHL Stormers remain in the hunt for their maiden victory in the competition after they lost at 24-14 at ASM Clermont Auvergne.

The South African side may have let an 11-point lead slip at Stade Marcel-Michelin, but they are a very different prospect at home, having won all 15 of their last home fixtures in all competitions

The Pool B match takes place at DHL Stadium in Cape Town, kicking off at 17:30 (UK & Irish time), and can be watched on SuperSport, BT Sport, beIN SPORTS and FloRugby.

     
     

Key quotes


Stormers’ Seabelo Senatla: “The atmosphere will be quite amazing. People will be in festive mood, with being on holiday. I think it will be quite amazing to have the game there and a lot of people coming to Cape Town.

London Irish’s Rob Simmons: “South Africa have entered the competition this year, so that poses a whole different logistical challenge for clubs, because traditionally an English club going to France is three to five days, but going down there (South Africa) for a week is a whole different culture.

DHL Stormers

  • The first DHL Stormers player to arrive in the breakdown only secured the ball 89 per cent of the time in Round 1.
  • Deon Fourie won four turnovers, as many as other player in the round.

London Irish

  • Irish made the most carries in Round 1 (154) and the most metres in contact (177), but also conceding the joint-fewest turnovers (six).
  • They also made 21 dominant tackle contacts, the most in the opening round.
  • They have lost five of their last six matches in all competitions.
     
     

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