Stormers' Van Rhyn not taking Benetton lightly: 'They shocked the Bulls in the Rainbow Cup final'

After losing to Munster at Cape Town Stadium last weekend, the Stormers move to Stellenbosch, where they will face Italian outfit Benetton in a United Rugby Championship (URC) clash on Friday.

It's a change of venue for the Cape-based franchise, but they can be assured that the famous student town will turn out in their thousands to support Steven Kitshoff's charges.

READ | Devastating blow for promising WP, Stormers flyhalf Kade Wolhuter as injury ends season

Benetton are ninth on the URC standings, but forward Ernst van Rhyn isn't taking the visitors lightly. He pointed to their 35-8 win over the Bulls in the 2021 Rainbow Cup final and said they were competitive in a 43-33 loss to the Sharks in Durban last weekend.

"They are a quality team," van Rhyn said in this week's build-up.

"They shocked the Bulls in the Rainbow Cup final. I think everyone realised that this isn't just any other team. It is a team that wants to compete and win.

"We also lost our opening game of the URC last season in Treviso. They are tricky and have some quality players with good experience. They are well-balanced and have built well over the past few years."

With the Stormers always more than prepared to give the ball some air, Van Rhyn expects much of the same from Benetton.

"They play some exciting rugby as well. If you look at the game against the Sharks, you can see they want to run the ball and play an expansive and exciting game. That makes them dangerous," he said.

Van Rhyn is also expecting a tough battle in the pack and doesn't see the visitors as underdogs for the clash.  

"A lot of their forwards play for the national team, so they also have a decent pack," Van Rhyn added.

"They are far past the stage when you could call them underdogs. We