As the Stormers prepare to face Sale in what is shaping up as a must-win clash in the Champions Cup, loose-forward Hacjivah Dayimani says each game is starting to feel like a cup final.
Sale and the Stormers are level on points in their Champions Cup pool, but Sale sits ahead of the Cape Town, in third place, due to a better points difference, which means that Saturday’s encounter at Cape Town Stadium has a lot riding on it.
Looking ahead to the game Dayimani said: “Every game we play now is important and it means something to us. It is make or break time.”
The flamboyant flanker, who has started the last few games at number eight went on to suggest that the focus levels in the team were heightened: “It is like we are in the army, we need to zoom in the lens and become snipers,” he said.
Saturday’s encounter will see Sale travel to Cape Town with several South Africans in their ranks, most notably the former Stormers trio of Robert du Preez, Cobus Wiese and Ernst van Rhyn.
Asked what it would mean facing up to his former team-mates Dayimani said: “Ernst knows what type of player I am, and I know him, I have played against those guys and the twins (Jean-Luc and Dan du Preez) a few times.
Hacjivah Dayimani’s highlights reel from this season in the Vodacom #URC 💎🔥 pic.twitter.com/li1IODiajE
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) May 30, 2023
“It’s not really about the personal battles, for me this weekend is about putting in another good 80 minutes. They might stop you once or twice, but it is about the whole game.”
Dayimani went on to say that he was loving his return to the back of the scrum in the absence of injured Evan Roos. “I enjoy playing eight as it is the position, I have played most of my life.
“I’ve also played openside and blindside flank, and also even wing and centre, but I particularly enjoy number eight, I feel I understand the game better at number eight,” he said.
The Stormers versus Sale Sharks kicks off at 7:30 on Saturday evening.
