Stormers must neutralise explosive Augustus, says Hlungwani

The Stormers must neutralise the explosive power of countryman Juarno “Trokkie” Augustus when they face Ulster in a top-of-the-table United Rugby Championship clash in Belfast on Friday, assistant coach Rito Hlungwani says.

After deciding his future lay overseas after an impressive stint at the Stormers, the rampant No 8 shone for Northampton Saints in England before becoming a key member of the Ulster side.

Augustus has hit top form at the business end of the season, and was named player of the match when Ulster advanced into the EPCR Challenge Cup semifinals with a 29-12 win over Exeter Chiefs last week.

“I coached Trokkie a couple of years ago, so he’s a player I know really, really well,” Hlungwani said. “He’s a good person, comes from a great family and I’m really proud of what he’s achieved since he left us.

“Juarno has given Ulster an extra layer to their attack. He did the same thing for Northampton Saints for a couple of years, and he is a good ball carrier. That go-forward ball he provides really helps them a lot.

“For us, it’s about making sure we handle his power. We feel like we’ve got players with good stopping power and good carrying ability who can match that and hopefully neutralise him.

It’s a really fast pitch. The ball bobbles a lot and keeps rolling, so you can’t rely on it going dead. The momentum you get from carries is different, so your body height has to be right. The same applies to tackling and those small details become very important
— Rito Hlungwani, Stormers assistant coach

“The desperation is there from our side. We want to come back still No 1 and give ourselves the best chance to play in the playoffs at home in Cape Town.”

Hlungwani said his team’s growing familiarity with artificial surfaces could be vital in Belfast.

“On our last trip to Belfast we didn’t spend a lot of time training on it — and then when we did, the boys took quite long to recover. That’s one of the reasons why we’ve decided to do most of our preparation at home this time.

“It’s a really fast pitch. The ball bobbles a lot and keeps rolling, so you can’t rely on it going dead. The momentum you get from carries is different, so your body height has to be right. The same applies to tackling and those small details become very important.

“I think the last win we had on 4G was Connacht away. We’ve won in Edinburgh, we’ve come close at Ulster, we’ve come close at Cardiff — but we see those experiences as an opportunity to learn.

“We feel we’ve got a strong understanding of how to prepare and play on that surface. We have had wins, probably the biggest one at Stade Francais.”

Springbok lock Salmaan Moerat is back in training after a serious toe injury, Hlungwani added.

“We had a split session this week, and he was getting stuck in. Salmaan did some scrumming and live mauls, so he’s coming back slowly. We’ll see how he goes for the rest of the week.”

Moerat’s return will be a timely boost, as fellow lock JD Schickerling (knee) is ruled out for the remainder of the campaign.

“Schickerling is out for the season, so having someone like Salmaan coming back would obviously help us with depth.”