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Leolin Zas had fun against the Bulls despite a surface that's not conducive for his running abilities. (Photo by Carl Fourie/Gallo Images)
- Stormers assistant coach Dawie Snyman isn't concerned about continued doubts over the state of the Cape Town Stadium pitch ahead of Saturday's URC semi against Connacht.
- As the performance against the Bulls illustrated, the players have found a way to adapt and probably experienced the worst of the deterioration already.
- Snyman is wary of believing Connacht may struggled to, figuratively, find their feet on the surface as they're used to challenging conditions at home in Galway.
Stormers assistant Dawie Snyman admits the beleaguered Cape Town Stadium pitch is "probably on its last legs" yet feels emboldened enough by his charges' fine win over the Bulls in last weekend's URC quarter-final to believe it won't present a problem in Saturday's semi-final against Connacht.
The state of the surface has been a talking point since last season - when the Cape franchise became the anchor tenant at the 2010 FIFA World Cup venue - as it's shallow, sandy character has seen the grass cut up more pronouncedly as campaigns progress.
However, the Monster Jam that took place about three weeks ago pushed it over the edge, with detractors opining that the surface now borders on being embarrassing.
There is light at the end of the tunnel with a new hybrid pitch - 50% grass and 50% synthetic - set to be laid in July, which will make it far easier to maintain.
For now though, the Stormers will have to make due playing on a field that theoretically shouldn't be conducive to their attractive brand of rugby, something they managed with aplomb against Jake White's troops.
"Look, it's where we're playing at the moment. Maybe it's an advantage for us because we understand the surface," said Snyman.
"We get opportunities to train on the field. It's not something we really complain about. We just get on with it."
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Yet while it's a situation beyond the Stormers' control, Snyman also makes the very reasonable point that, regardless of the fiasco of recent weeks, the surface has probably reach peak deterioration.
"It's probably on its last legs. There's not much we can do about it, there will be some rain later this week too so I'm not sure if that's going to help," he said.
"But the last three to four games have been similar, so I don't think it will get any worse. This past weekend is probably the worst we've seen it."
Unsurprisingly, there is a view that the choppy grass could prove a stumbling block for Connacht, who've never played at the stadium with the two teams' previous meeting having been at the Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch and only arrive in the Mother City on Wednesday.
It's not one Snyman buys into.
"It's something to get used to, but Connacht, even though they play on an artificial pitch, are confronted with pretty difficult conditions at their home ground [in Galway] at times. If there's one team that would be capable of adapting to [what's required at Cape Town Stadium], it's them.
"It might take a few minutes, but it won't take them long," he said.
If their performance against the Bulls is anything to go by, the Stormers aren't going to creep into their shells even on the patchy surface.
"We definitely allow discretion and freedom based on what the game's complexion allows us. If there's an opportunity to seize, you have to take it. We saw Frans Malherbe make more passes than he's probably completed in the past five years," said Snyman.
"We make the players aware of such scenarios and situations. It's where rugby is going, you need to be able to adjust and players need different skillsets. It's great to see guys like Frans winning balls and and move it into space, which makes it easier for guys on the outside to find even more space behind the defenders."
Kick-off is at 16:00.
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