Five things the Bulls taught the Stormers about URC side Connacht

THE high-riding Stormers face arguably the toughest test of their United Rugby Championship campaign on Saturday when they face Connacht in Galway (3pm SA time kick-off.

The Irish outfit are just a point ahead of the Capetonians on 24, so coach John Dobson will hope that his team can pull off a famous victory at The Sportsground.

But the Bulls found out on their European tour that Connacht are hard to beat on their home ground, so here are five lessons from that game that the Stormers would do well to heed this weekend…

Prepare for the wind

The Bulls were caught napping when they went down 34-7 to Connacht last October. There was a strong wind blowing on the night, and the South Africans had it behind them in the first half.

But Jake White’s side were trailing 10-7 at the break, and were blown away in the second half as Connacht kicked them deep into their 22, and the Pretoria side battled to get out of their own half.

The weather forecast seems to be even worse for the Stormers on Saturday – a high of 10°C, with a ‘real feel’ of four degrees, and a stiff 30km/h southerly wind.

It’s not going to be pretty.

Watch out for the shape of the field

White complained afterwards about how The Sportsground pitch was sloped into a particular corner, where the wind also comes from.

So, the Stormers backline will have to keep the passes short and be assured with their handling.

Don’t just rely on mauls and scrums for penalties

The Bulls got on top of the Connacht pack, and were able to launch a number of mauls from lineouts, while they also won the scrum battle.

But time and again the Irish side were able to stop some of those drives.

The Stormers have been bolstered by the return of tighthead prop Neethling Fouché, as well as No 8