The Star E-dition

Stormers take URC trophy to streets of Cape Town

WYNONA LOUW wynona.louw@inl.co.za

THE Stormers were welcomed by a lively crowd yesterday as they showed off the United Rugby Championship (URC) trophy.

The inaugural URC winners paraded the trophy through the streets of Cape Town, with mayor Geordin Hill-lewis, captain Steven Kitshoff and coach John Dobson all addressing the crowd outside City Hall before going on an open-top bus parade.

The Stormers defeated the Bulls 18-13 in the Grand Final at Cape Town Stadium after overcoming Ulster in the semi-final and Edinburgh in the quarters. The victory over their old foes stretched their winning streak to 11 matches.

One of the most entertaining things to come out of the Capetonians’ historic win was loose forward Hacjivah Dayimani and his partying voyage.

The thrill-a-minute flanker was snapped living it up at various establishments in the Mother City following their triumph, and when asked who of the Stormers team followed suit, hooker JJ Kotze said with a chuckle: “I think Hacjivah was on his own mission. It’s actually so cool what he did. At least he was dressed today and

that kit can have a rest.”

Kotze added that their success wasn’t something he would have predicted.

“A year or two ago … not at all (would he have predicted that they would lift the trophy). I was busy studying at Maties. I didn’t expect

this at all.”

In the final, Andre-hugo Venter came on for Kotze, and speaking during the trophy parade, the son of legendary Springbok Andre Venter said that having his father at the Grand Final made their victory sweeter.

Venter came off the bench for Kotze and scored the Stormers’ second try.

Speaking during the parade, Venter shared what it felt like having his father at the decider, especially as he hadn’t attended his recent games prior to the quarter-final against Edinburgh at Cape Town Stadium due to the Covid interruption.

“It was really special having him here. He was actually at the last three games – the quarter, semis and final. Before this, the last time he watched a game of mine was a school game due to Covid.

“It was really nice having him there. Sharing that memory with him is something I’ll cherish for the rest of my life,” the 20-year-old front-rower said.

When speaking about his score, Venter credited his pack for laying the foundation for his maul try.

“Everybody dreams of it. It was a maul try and as a hooker … it was a special try, but it was more the guys up front there who worked hard for that try, I just held the ball and fell over the (try) line. It was still a dream come true.

“It is unbelievably special. Last year around October, November, December we didn’t think it was likely. Later, it became a reality and we started thinking ‘we can win this thing’. It’s unbelievable.”

Metro

en-za

2022-06-25T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-06-25T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://thestar.pressreader.com/article/281835762381138

African News Agency