VIDEO: Connacht ready for their Cape Town 'beach party'
A 29-man Connacht squad will arrive in Cape Town on Wednesday attempting to do what very few have achieved in the last two years.
The Irish province hopes to become only the second team since December 2021 to beat the Stormers at their new fortress, the Cape Town Stadium - when they go head-to-head in a United Rugby Championship semifinal.
Munster's 26-24 win at the Greenpoint-based venue last month ended a 21-match undefeated run.
However, the dire state of the playing surface may well be a bigger shock to the visitors' system when they step onto the pitch.
The multi-purpose venue - which recently hosted a Monster Jam truck rally - in places resembles a beach and where there is grass it is also threadbare and not very stable.
The playing surface will be replaced by a hybrid pitch - 50 percent grass and 50 percent synthetic - with the process of relaying the pitch starting in July and should be finished in October.
Stormers coach John Dobson recently said the 'hybrid' version is far better for Cape Town's conditions than a fully synthetic surface, such as the 4G pitch being used at Connacht;'s Sportsground.
Connacht coach Peter Wilkins said they are aware of the reports of the inauspicious state of the surface.
(Article continues below the Peter Wilkins interview ...)
While a few of the current Connacht squad has played at Newlands, none of them have ever played at the Cape Town Stadium.
"We are really excited to play there," he told @rugby365com, adding: "If the crowd is anything like it has been in recent games, it will be a really exciting occasion for both teams."
He admitted they have spoken to a few coaches who coached against the Stormers about the poor condition of the Cape Town's venue's pitch.
"We have seen the footage on the TV," he said of the surface, adding: "It is something that is out of our control.
"We do get a few different surfaces floating around Europe and we are used to the artificial at the Sportsground," he said of their Galway's home base.
"It will be slightly different surroundings and we referenced it in our team meeting.
"It is certainly no excuse to impose our game on the Stormers.
"We will get a chance to look at it during the captain's run [on Friday] and we will see for ourselves exactly what it is."
Connacht reported a clean bill of health from the past weekend's 15-10 quarterfinal win over Ulster, with the travelling squad including all 23 players who featured in Belfast.
Also included are Connacht natives Eoin de Buitléar, Cathal Forde, Darragh Murray and Colm Reilly, as well as props Peter Dooley and Dominic Robertson-McCoy.
Without giving too much of their game plan away, Wilkins said they had some 'clear ideas' about what will be required to get an upset win against the Stormers.
"I would like to think we go up against every opponent with some clear ideas about where the access points are," he said about ways of unlocking the Stormers' famed defence.
"We have a pretty thorough plan for the Stormers this week.
"They are a strong team with some terrific players.
"There is a huge amount that we have to respect about them.
"However, we also have a pretty clear plan for how we are going to go about it.
"That gives us confidence and clarity."
Connacht squad
Forwards: Jack Aungier, Finlay Bealham, Denis Buckley, Jarrad Butler, Eoin de Buitlear, Peter Dooley, Oisín Dowling, Jordan Duggan, Dave Heffernan, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Josh Murphy, Darragh Murray, Niall Murray, Conor Oliver, Cian Prendergast, Dominic Robertson-McCoy, Dylan Tierney-Martin,.
Backs: Bundee Aki, Caolin Blade, Jack Carty, Tom Daly, Tom Farrell, Cathal Forde, Mack Hansen, Kieran Marmion, John Porch, Tiernan O’Halloran, Byron Ralston, Colm Reilly.
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