URC: Cardiff travel to South Africa to face the Stormers in the play-offs

Cardiff United will travel to South Africa to face the Stormers in the Rugby Championship (URC) play-offs.

Corniel van Zyl’s side booked their place in the URC quarter-finals with a 22-16 win over the Stormers at Arms Park in the final regular league match on Friday night.

The Welsh side had to wait until the final round of games to find out where they would travel and they face the Stormers in a rematch on Saturday 30 May in Cape Town.

South Africa face the logistical challenge of trying to figure out a squad to begin preparations for next weekend’s match in Cardiff.

“We were delighted to reach the play-offs but there is work to be done next so we hope to push on and then see how long this season can go,” said Van Zyl.

Cardiff outscored the Stormers to four tries and produced a dynamic defensive effort but were beaten at the scrum.

Van Zyl knows John Dobson’s Stormers side will be out for revenge.

“The set-piece (scrum) was probably a bit of a concern, but the Stormers are really good at it,” van Zyl said.

“So that’s definitely something we have to look at going into the playoffs.

“They have some guys in their team who are great players, so it’s about overcoming obstacles and playing away from home and producing the same level of performance as we did here (in Cardiff).

“That’s the biggest challenge. Knockout rugby is the ultimate thing, anything can happen.”