Cape Town - When Steven Kitshoff left his beloved Stormers the first time around in 2015, he was 23 and with the world at his feet.
He set sail for Bordeaux in France to explore Europe and the rest of the world, all in the knowledge that he would return to Cape Town some day to play for his favourite rugby team.
And having started at the age of 18 already, he had already amassed 60 caps in Super Rugby at that stage.
Two seasons in the French Top 14 went by, and the Mother City came calling again in 2017, and it culminated in last season’s unforgettable United Rugby Championship triumph when the Stormers beat the Bulls 18-13 in the final at Cape Town Stadium.
It was just reward for the hard slog that captain Kitshoff and others had endured, as they finally secured a trophy.
But now the loosehead prop is about to say goodbye to the Stormers again. He is joining Ulster next season, and at the age of 31, he has opted to sign a three-year contract with the Belfast outfit.
So, despite the longevity of front-rankers in general, there is no guarantee that the Springbok stalwart – who has 71 Test caps to his name and a 2019 Rugby World Cup winners’ medal – will return to Cape further down the line.
That is why the big man from Somerset West wants to make the most of the rest of the season, which he hopes will extend well beyond Saturday’s URC quarter-final against the Bulls at Cape Town Stadium (3.30pm kickoff).
“It is a huge game for me personally,” Kitshoff said in an interview with the Stormers website this week.
“It might be my last game for a while at DHL Stadium and in a Stormers jersey – you never know what the future holds.
“One of the things I am going to miss most is the atmosphere that the faithful bring every weekend, the number of people that come and support the team on a Friday or Saturday afternoon.
“I will miss the team, playing in the blue-and-white hoops, the management, players, the support staff, everything that goes around Western Province – the rich culture and town. I am definitely going to miss Cape Town… it has a special place in my heart.
“Playing for the Stormers is the best decision I could have ever made as a young rugby lad, and playing in the North-South derby in a playoff, it’s extremely personal.
“It’s games like these that you look forward to as a kid growing up. When you get to these moments, you live for them.
“I’m as energised as can be and looking forward to this weekend. I know there’s a lot of work to be done, especially those 80 minutes on the field, but I will give it everything, and try to make the team as proud as possible in front of the faithful.”
The Stormers are outright favourites to knock over the Bulls once more, having enjoyed a five-match unbeaten run over their great rivals in the URC.
Two Western Province Currie Cup wins over URC-strength Bulls sides this season further consolidates the Capetonians’ dominance over Jake White’s teams.
But while Kitshoff knows that the Stormers can’t start thinking already about facing Ulster in the semi-final and Leinster in the final away from home, he would love nothing more than to lift the URC trophy for the second season in a row.
White and players have avoided press conferences this week, and will hope to come up with a clever plan to end their Stormers hoodoo.
“Mentally, you have to be the sharpest. The hard work has been done throughout the year. Getting yourself into a position where you are playing in a home quarter-final takes a lot of hard work, sacrifice, trying to fix all the kinks in the game and build momentum,” Kitshoff said.
“This weekend will be all about how well we can implement our plan, and how well we can execute the things we do well as a team. It’s not about diving too deep on the small things, but trying to get as mentally prepared as possible.
“We have a real opportunity, and if we get through the quarter-finals, there are possibly two away games we need to travel to Ireland. Anything can happen in playoff games – it’s the team that’s most desperate on the day, the bounce of the ball, getting the ref’s calls in your favour.
“It will be a massive motivator, and the team is as prepared as can be. We are really looking forward to getting three big victories and going back-to-back. That’s the goal, for the Stormers and myself personally: to win back-to-back trophies.”
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