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Cape Town - Stormers wing Bryan Habana has cautioned his team-mates that Currie Cup success does not necessarily equate to success in Super Rugby.
The Cape side finally broke a long trophy drought last year when they won the Currie Cup final against all odds by beating the Sharks in Durban - their first major success since 2001.
They did win the South African Super Rugby Conference title for two years running but the team's inability to win knockout matches remained a big problem. So now with that burden lifted, the Capetonians are brimming with confidence as they head into a new season with a multi-talented squad
But Habana is cautious and warned that they should be wary of overconfidence.
"We saw the way the Lions struggled (in Super Rugby) last year that their Currie Cup win (in 2011) meant absolutely nothing in Super Rugby," he told Die Burger's website.
"You want to take the positives out of it, but Super Rugby is a different animal and you have to be at your best every week."
Habana did, however, acknowledge that the younger players in the team can take a lot from their successes at the tail end of last season.
"I do think the fact that we won the Currie Cup will make the young players believe that they can achieve success.
"Hopefully it will get us over that final hurdle, together with the confidence which stems from winning the South African group," said Habana.
The Stormers take on the Cheetahs in a pre-season match in Bloemfontein on Saturday. They face Boland in Cape Town the following week in their last warm-up match before starting the season proper away to the Bulls on Friday, February 22.
Kick-off at the Free State Stadium is at 17:00 on Saturday, with the match to be broadcasted live on SuperSport.
Teams:
Cheetahs:
15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Jannie Boshoff, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Rayno Benjamin, 11 Rocco Jansen, 10 Riaan Smit, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Phillip van der Walt, 7 Davon Raubenheimer, 6 Johannes Prinsloo, 5 Doppies Vermeulen, 4 Rynhardt Landman, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Trevor Nyakane.
Substitutes: 16. Ryno Barnes, 17. Caylib Oosthuizen, 18. Lood de Jager, 19. Francois Uys, 20. Frans Viljoen, 21. Juan Smith, 22. Lappies Labuschagne, 23. Piet van Zyl, 24. Elgar Watts, 25. Barry Geel, 26. Willie le Roux, 27. Hansie Graaff
Stormers:
15. Jaco Taute, 14. Gio Aplon, 13. Juan de Jongh, 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Kurt Coleman, 9. Louis Schreuder, 8. Duane Vermeulen (captain), 7. Don Armand, 6. Nizaam Carr, 5. De Kock Steenkamp, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 3. Frans Malherbe, 2. Martin Bezuidenhout, 1. Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16. Stephan Coetzee, 17. Pat Cilliers, 18. Ruan Botha, 19. Michael Rhodes, 20. Rayn Smid, 21. Dewaldt Duvenage, 22. Pat Howard, 23. Gerhard van den Heever, 24. Joe Pietersen
The Cape side finally broke a long trophy drought last year when they won the Currie Cup final against all odds by beating the Sharks in Durban - their first major success since 2001.
They did win the South African Super Rugby Conference title for two years running but the team's inability to win knockout matches remained a big problem. So now with that burden lifted, the Capetonians are brimming with confidence as they head into a new season with a multi-talented squad
But Habana is cautious and warned that they should be wary of overconfidence.
"We saw the way the Lions struggled (in Super Rugby) last year that their Currie Cup win (in 2011) meant absolutely nothing in Super Rugby," he told Die Burger's website.
"You want to take the positives out of it, but Super Rugby is a different animal and you have to be at your best every week."
Habana did, however, acknowledge that the younger players in the team can take a lot from their successes at the tail end of last season.
"I do think the fact that we won the Currie Cup will make the young players believe that they can achieve success.
"Hopefully it will get us over that final hurdle, together with the confidence which stems from winning the South African group," said Habana.
The Stormers take on the Cheetahs in a pre-season match in Bloemfontein on Saturday. They face Boland in Cape Town the following week in their last warm-up match before starting the season proper away to the Bulls on Friday, February 22.
Kick-off at the Free State Stadium is at 17:00 on Saturday, with the match to be broadcasted live on SuperSport.
Teams:
Cheetahs:
15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Jannie Boshoff, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Rayno Benjamin, 11 Rocco Jansen, 10 Riaan Smit, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Phillip van der Walt, 7 Davon Raubenheimer, 6 Johannes Prinsloo, 5 Doppies Vermeulen, 4 Rynhardt Landman, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Trevor Nyakane.
Substitutes: 16. Ryno Barnes, 17. Caylib Oosthuizen, 18. Lood de Jager, 19. Francois Uys, 20. Frans Viljoen, 21. Juan Smith, 22. Lappies Labuschagne, 23. Piet van Zyl, 24. Elgar Watts, 25. Barry Geel, 26. Willie le Roux, 27. Hansie Graaff
Stormers:
15. Jaco Taute, 14. Gio Aplon, 13. Juan de Jongh, 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Kurt Coleman, 9. Louis Schreuder, 8. Duane Vermeulen (captain), 7. Don Armand, 6. Nizaam Carr, 5. De Kock Steenkamp, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 3. Frans Malherbe, 2. Martin Bezuidenhout, 1. Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16. Stephan Coetzee, 17. Pat Cilliers, 18. Ruan Botha, 19. Michael Rhodes, 20. Rayn Smid, 21. Dewaldt Duvenage, 22. Pat Howard, 23. Gerhard van den Heever, 24. Joe Pietersen
