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Stormers 'better prepared' for Sunwolves

Cape Town - The Stormers do not have the fondest memories of Singapore. 

The Sunwolves lost 13 of their 15 matches in their debut Super Rugby season last year - with a win and a draw their only positive results. The victory came at home against the Jaguares, while the draw came against the Stormers in Singapore on May 14. 

It was an embarrassing day for the Stormers, who relied on a late try from Vincent Koch to snatch a 17-17 draw. 

Coach Robbie Fleck and his troops are back at the Singapore National Stadium this weekend, where they are looking to set the record straight against the Japanese outfit. 

The Stormers are fielding a far less experienced side this time around - Scarra Ntubeni, Frans Malherbe, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Damian de Allende, Juan de Jongh and Cheslin Kolbe are all currently absent - but Fleck believes the side is better prepared.

“Last year we weren’t able to train at all because of the weather and they closed the captain’s run down," he told media from Singapore on Thursday.

"We are better prepared in the sense that we were able to train on Tuesday and we had a good session and then another good session today (Thursday) and we’ve got one more tomorrow (Friday).

"It’s three more than last year, so we’re certainly better prepared in that way." 

Fleck added that last year's result had ensured that nobody playing on Saturday was taking anything for granted. 

"Mentally as well, last year we were probably mentally off our game where the threat of something happening like that again is pretty evident so the guys are switched on," he said.

"They’ve done the hard yards, not only on the field, but off the field as well. Our detail and preparation is right. We’re looking forward to the game."

The match kicks off at 12:55 and a win for the Stormers would see them make it four from four in 2017. 

Teams:

Sunwolves

15 Jamie-Jerry Taulagi, 14 Shota Emi, 13 Timothy Lafaele, 12 Derek Carpenter, 11 Kenki Fukuoka, 10 Jumpei Ogura, 9 Keisuke Uchida, 8 Willie Britz, 7 Shokei Kin, 6 Ed Quirk (captain), 5 Sam Wykes, 4 Liaki Moli, 3 Heiichiro Ito, 2 Yusuke Niwai, 1 Koki Yamamoto

Substitutes: 16 Atsushi Sakate, 17 Masataka Mikami, 18 Takuma Asahara, 19 Uwe Helu, 20 Shumei Matsuhashi, 21 Kaito Shigeno, 22 Hayden Cripps, 23 Ryohei Yamanaka

Stormers

15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 Bjorn Basson, 13 EW Viljoen, 12 Dan Kriel, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Siya Kolisi (captain), 6 Rynhardt Elstadt, 5 JD Shickerling, 4 Chris van Zyl, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg

Substitutes: 16 Ramone Samuels, 17 Caylib Oosthuizen, 18 Oli Kebble, 19 Jan de Klerk, 20 Cobus Wiese, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Kurt Coleman, 23 Dan du Plessis

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