Stormers take confidence from doing homework as they prepare for resurgent Munster in URC final

As the old sporting cliché goes, “it’s about controlling the controllables”, and the Stormers are taking that to heart as they prepare to face Munster in the United Rugby Championship (UFC) final.

DHL Stadium in Green Point is sold out — 55,000 tickets were snapped up in less than three hours when they went on sale last week. The Stormers will have fervent support and there will be no shortage of atmosphere even though the weather forecast is for rain and wind as a cold front sweeps through the Mother City.

They can’t control nature, but through their performance they can bring the crowd into the match. Their deeds on the field will go a long way to orchestrating the mood of the “Faithful” as players call the thousands who have made Green Point a modern, wonderful and successful new home.

They can also control their performance to a large degree, although Munster will obviously ensure that even the best laid plans will need adjustment and improvisation at times.

Mentally though, and through their pre-match preparation, everything is in their control until the moment referee Andrea Piardi’s whistle blows. Then it becomes about percentages; about controlling what you can in the heat of battle where an opponent is trying to disrupt your best-laid plans.

It was strange to hear the brooding strong man of the pack, Frans Malherbe talk about controlling emotions. He never outwardly displays any sign of nerves.

It’s hard to recall Malherbe being involved in an altercation, whether verbally or physically. He just goes about the business of making life hell for opposing looseheads, reshaping scrums with his meaty frame, making big tackles and cleaning rucks as if it were as simple and natural as breathing.

But underneath the quiet exterior is a man who gains his serenity from preparation. Doing his homework lowers blood pressure and heart rate. To use the Bok mantra, which Malherbe clearly does, “know your job; do your job.” And doing homework allows him to stay calm and operate at a high level.

“The emotion will definitely build until Saturday,” an outwardly unemotional Malherbe told the media.

“It’s a given and unarguable, but experience helps to calm me and focus on the plans. It may sound like a cliché, but indeed helps to calm me.

“If you’re 100 per cent sure of your plans, it gives you peace of mind and confidence towards the end of the week when the emotions pick up predictably.”

Scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies also spoke of doing the work beforehand to build confidence. But he also hinted that his desire to do the prep work was also driven by the potential fear of regret.

“There’s no Monday for us, so we can’t come back and say maybe we should have done this, we could have done that,” Jantjies said.

“This is it, that’s why it’s called the final, it’s a big one, we have one chance, so it’s a big game, and the focus is obviously to get it right.”

Munster centre Malakai Fekitoa is another player who was cleared from injury and made the trip to Cape Town for the URC final. The former All Black is a key player in the Irish team's setup. (Photo: Carl Fourie/Gallo Images)

Munster and Bok lock RG Snyman is back for the URC final after completing concussion protocols. The giant lock played a huge part in Munster's 26-24 win over the Stormers at the DHL Stadium in April. (Photo: Carl Fourie/Gallo Images)