Stephen Nell

Cape Town – It is a lie that the Stormers have never won a trophy.

In the last few weeks alone they shared a cricket trophy with the Cape Cobras after their hit-and-giggle, while there was also a trophy presentation after Saturday’s 47-13 win over Boland at the Cape Town Stadium.

They probably deserve a reward of sorts for an impressive pre-season that also included wins over the Western Force and Sharks. However, the rugby season starts in all earnest for them on Saturday against the Lions at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg.

“I have said a few times that we don’t have any log points yet. The warm-up games were nice and gave us a bit of confidence. We know that our systems are working and that we are on the right track,” said Stormers captain Schalk Burger.

“But we are under no illusions. It’s a new chapter from now.

“It’s never easy to play against the Lions up there. They are a bit of a bogey side for us. We are definitely ready for them, but realise it’s a major challenge.”

While the Lions, and before them the Cats, have occasionally been a pain in the Stormers’ butt, they have a poor record against the Cape side.

The Stormers have, in fact, won the last eight matches between the sides - from 2007 until 2009 against the Lions, and from 2002 to 2006 against the Cats.

Last year the Stormers destroyed the Lions 56-18 at Newlands. The Cape side can also bank on support in front of the Lions’ home crowd in Johannesburg.

Nevertheless, the Stormers’ inability to score four tries in their 22-13 win over the Lions in Johannesburg in 2008 stopped them from advancing to the Super14 semifinals.

The Johannesburg outfit’s last win was the 29-24 victory at Newlands in 2001 – when Japie Mulder tackled De Wet Barry into a hospital in Claremont.

And that sums up the relationship between Western Province and the Golden Lions: nasty, even if it is one-sided.

So even if it is difficult to see how the Stormers will start with anything but a win over the Lions (who have lost most of their best players due to bungling with their contracting), this derby match remains a tough one.

Think, for example, about how Western Province lost their winning momentum after going down 25-27 to the Lions before the semifinals of last year’s Currie Cup.

The Stormers’ forwards showed with their pre-season performance against the Sharks that they are ready for a big season. Of course the scrums will be tough against props of the quality of Heinke van der Merwe and possibly Kevin Buys.

“The Sharks game was reasonably good for our confidence, but the Super14 is played at a higher intensity,” said Burger.

“People are writing off the Lions, but I believe they will be competitive. The pre-season was nice, but is over now. Hopefully we can build on it in the Super14.”

That probably means that a victory – even if it does not include four tries – will be good enough to start with.