Their scrap against Ulster was the perfect preparation for the Stormers as they await a fierce onslaught from La Rochelle in the Champions Cup play-offs on Saturday.
Ulster dragged the Cape side to the gutters, and it took some grit for the home side to pull off a 13-7 United Rugby Championship victory.
It put the former champions within reach of a home play-off spot in the tournament, with a handful of games left to secure it.
After back-to-back wins, they are primed for the current holders of the Champions Cup, who pay a visit to Cape Town Stadium on Saturday (4pm kick-off).
The Stormers ravaged Edinburgh 43-21 two weeks ago in a try fest. So, the dogfight with Ulster means they had the best of both worlds in terms of preparation for what La Rochelle could bring.
“We are going to have to be clever with our plans if we want to beat them,” said Stormers director of rugby John Dobson.
“You can’t let their forwards conserve energy. You have to be clever with your ideas about stopping their rolling maul.
“Those French forwards are known for how they park in the middle of the field to save energy. We are going to have to ask them questions to keep them moving.
“It’s a different tactical plan this week. This will be like a Test match. But we will be up for it.”
One thing Dobson and his team will be able to take away from a dismal first half against Ulster was their defence – even the couple of times they had to scramble when they were found wanting out wide.
The double tackles came in thick and fast to stop the big Ulstermen from gaining ground, and although they were not as effective at the breakdown as they were two weeks ago, it turned out to be a good win in the end.
That will spur the home side on as they now bid to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup for a second consecutive year.
We may have just seen it all 😂
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) March 30, 2024
JJ Kotze kicks a 50-22 to help the DHL Stormers to victory 👇#STOvULS pic.twitter.com/PGnQbuz0cl
“The Ulster match-up was very helpful in our preparation for this weekend. La Rochelle is a different size creature coming out here,” Dobson said.
“We got off the canvas (against Ulster) and slugged it out, but we managed to play Stormers rugby in the second half and it was just frustrating that we left so many tries out there.
“The defending was excellent, though, and we spoke about it during half-time: stopping Ulster. At times we were too tight, and that allowed them to catch us out wide. That is a defensive issue, and it hurt us.
“We were a bit too tight ... it was a technical thing. But if you look at our dominant tackles, it wasn’t like we were not physically there. Ulster were outstanding.”
The same physicality and better accuracy will be needed to stop La Rochelle players like Will Skelton, Levani Botia, Uini Atonio, Gregory Aldritt and Jonathan Danty.
That is why the Stormers must up their intensity and ensure they keep up the double hits that kept the Belfast outfit at bay.
They also can’t afford to miss many tackles this weekend, as they won’t be let off the hook by the star-studded French giants.