It’s a tough scrum battle for the Stormers when they take on Glasgow Warriors on an artificial 4G pitch in a United Rugby Championship (URC) match on Sunday afternoon (kick-off 5pm).
In what should be a tough match for the defending URC champions, they will need to be quick on the surface, to try and assert their dominance going forward and give their exciting backline a platform to attack.
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The lineout will also be an interesting battle in the match with the Stormers having a mini injury crisis in that position, and Marvin Orie will play a key role in guiding them.
“They have a very good scrum and play regularly on artificial turf. We look forward to putting some things in place to get that edge,” explained Stormers prop Brok Harris ahead of the match.
“The most important thing when playing on an artificial pitch is to win the speed of the engagement. The pitch does not allow you to recover like on a grass pitch, so the focus will always be on being quick on the mark in scrums.
“In terms of line-outs, Glasgow are one of the best teams in the competition, so we’ll have to consider our options carefully. At least there won’t be any grass fires, as the rain continues.”
Lots of experience
Harris has a lot of experience playing on artificial pitches in the UK having made over a hundred appearances for the Dragons in Newport, so he knows exactly what to expect and believes Glasgow’s style of play will suit the Stormers.
“The stadium was pretty good. It was still grass that day, and with all the rain and not much sun, it was a bit damp. But it was converted to artificial 4G, so the field wasn’t a problem,” explained Harris.
“I also think Franco (Smith, coach of Glasgow), likes to give the players a little air, and that suits us. So it’s an amazing field, we can’t control the situation but at least it will be a muddy field.
Harris is renowned for his dual role in the front row, as well as being adept at playing prop tighthead or loosehead, and he is now doing the same on and off the pitch, wearing the coach’s hat in his absence for 23 games.
“You always have the intention to enter the coach’s side when you finally finish playing. It’s really good to have one run in the coach’s camp and one in the playing camp and I’m very happy at this time,” said Harris.