Vodacom Stormers Geared For Pre-Season Bulls Clash

Their first big test will come in the form of arch rivals the Bulls when the two teams meet at Newlands on 21 January.

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The Vodacom Stormers are stationed at their Bellville training facility 9 to 5, which is fully equipped with gym facilities, training fields and video and technical analysis stations, as well as the Bellville municipal swimming pool conveniently located next door. They have also set up a team room where they can relax between sessions and enjoy catered for meals together.

The coaching and medical teams have also vacated their offices at Newlands and have set up shop in Bellville. The team have a full schedule for the next two weeks, training Monday to Friday, as they prepare for the first of their two pre-season preparation matches against the Bulls. They will take on the Southern Spiers in their second friendly on 28 January at Boland Stadium in Wellington.

“I’m very happy with the way the guys have worked over the off-season. Their conditioning for this stage of the year is exceptional and I’m extremely proud of the players’ great work ethic. I think that it can be attributed to our young enthusiastic players who are keen to make use of the opportunities the Vodacom Super 14 has to offer, as well as the senior players who refuse to drop the standards,” explains Vodacom Stormers Fitness and Conditioning Coach Greg Hechter.

“The players all committed to individual targets set on a one on one basis together with the conditioning and coaching staff, which had to be met during the December break. It was great to see some of the players going one better than the targets they committed to,” said Hechter.

The focus during the pre-season is position specific and is geared towards functional training with the emphasis on types of training that is closely related to the game. The Vodacom Stormers will be going on a four-day team building tour towards the end of January as to hit the ground running for their first match against the Cats in Johannesburg on 11 February.

Vodacom Stormers coach Kobus van der Merwe will announce his final squad of 30 on 16 January 2006. Read it first on www.thestormers.com.