The Stormers’ Springbok flyhalf Manie Libbok, who is set to make his 50th appearance for the franchise in their Champions Cup game against Stade Francais this weekend, says he is hoping Saturday night will be a special occasion for him and the team.
Libbok, who has already won the URC with The Stormers and the World Cup with the Springboks, would like nothing more than to lift European rugby’s premier trophy as well.
Speaking to the media ahead of the weekend’s trip to France he said: “It’s awesome to play my 50th this week. It will be amazing, and hopefully it will be an amazing night.
“It’s important for myself individually to grow. I always want to learn and get better, work on my game, identify areas in my game where I can be better going forward.
“As a group as well, the growth over the past few years is amazing. I am just stoked for the guys who want to do better and learn.
“This weekend is going to be a good test for us in terms of seeing where we are at in terms of playing abroad and the result.
“It’s definitely going to be nice to be in Paris again. A different stadium, but I am just looking forward to being back there again playing a quality side like Stade Francais.”
A win for the Stormers could see them end second in their pool behind Leinster and Libbok is hopeful that a solid finish in the pool stages will help the team improve on last season’s quarter-final finish.
“Ending in the quarter-finals last season, we got a good taste of the level of the Champions Cup, but it was awesome from our side, and this year we want to build on that.
“We want to give our all and go all out. I believe in this group, that we can go all out. But for us, the focus is on week in, week out – the game ahead.
“It will be good for our confidence going forward as well, because in the past few years, we have struggled to get results overseas. If we do the small things right, I think we can get the result this weekend,” he said.
The Stormers versus Stade Francais kicks off at 7:30pm on Saturday.
