Final game for now, but I might be back – Steven Kitschoff Aug 10 ’11 at 10:01

Captain Stephen Kitschoff admitted he would be emotionally saying goodbye to Cape Town after playing his last game for the Stormers in the Rugby United Championship (URC) final against Munster on Saturday, but don’t be surprised if he returns one day.

Kitshoff moves to Ulster at the end of the season and was expected to play his last home game three weeks ago in the quarter-finals against the Bulls.

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But two setbacks later, with Connaught beating Ulster in their quarter-finals and Munster beating Leinster in the semi-final, the Stormers ended up going through the semi-finals and now the final, giving Kitshoff two more home farewells.

“I feel confident, nervous and excited. But everything is going in the right direction, there are no fears for this game, ”Kitschoff said at a pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon.

“At the moment this is my last game. But I can always go back to the Stormers and I will always keep that door open. So it will be emotional. Rugby first, 80 minutes of play and then I’ll continue.”

Massive challenge

Kitshoff knows his team is facing a major challenge against Munster, who they have yet to beat in the URC, and said a good, intense start is key for them in the match.

Lost in the pool stage last month and in the semi-finals against Connacht two weeks ago stormtroopers started to get off to a slow start and had to fight back as they couldn’t be real in Munster but were eventually able to defeat Connacht.

“We all know this field and it is almost impossible to play rugby on it. If you lose a few points at the beginning, you will have to fight hard to get them back,” Kitschoff said.

“When we played Munster here[last month]we lost 12 points in the first couple of minutes of the game and then bounced back.

“It was a tough day against them last time. So we understand Munster’s threats and we’ve really taken a deep dive into their DNA and the way they play. So we understand that we can’t let them tail up and we can’t let them score sooner.

“It is impossible to guarantee a good start (in the game). But you can guarantee that you will start with intensity and come to the fore early in the game. The scoreboard may not look like this, but you feel like you’re on top.”