A packed calendar of events awaits those hungry to sample some rugby again. Diarise the following provisional DHL Stormers dates so that you don’t miss out.

•           15 Jan – DHL Stormers squad to take on UCT in a match in Riebeck Kasteel.

•           22 Jan – Stormers squad to take on Maties in a training match venue TBC.

•           28 Jan – Neo Africa Tri Series – DHL Stormers v Lions – DHL Newlands.

•           1 Feb – Neo Africa Tri Series – Sharks v Lions – DHL Newlands.

•           2 Feb – adidas launch of DHL Stormers jersey.

•           4 Feb – Club Newlands – Newlands Sleepover.

•           5 Feb – Neo Africa Tri Series – DHL Stormers v Sharks – DHL Newlands.

•           12 Feb – Friendly – DHL Stormers v Boland – Newlands.

•           13 Feb – Cricket – Challenge –  Cape Cobras v DHL Stormers at Sahara Park .

•           16 Feb – Club Newlands – DHL Stormers kick-off party.

•           26 Feb – Vodacom S15 – DHL Stormers v Lions – Newlands.

From Stormers site and Varsity Cup site

Ikeys prepare for Stormers ‘work-out’

The FNB Ikey Tigers, as they have in recent years, will start their Varsity Cup preparations with a warm-up match against the best that Western Cape rugby has to offer; the Stormers.

UCT – now under the guidance of Kevin Foote, with John Dobson part of the Western Province coaching staff – will once again travel to Riebeek West for a training camp before taking on the Stormers at the RPC fields on Saturday morning.

Last year the Ikeys went down 3-21 to the Stormers – who went on to contest the 2010 Super 14 Final against the Bulls – and the students will be eyeing their annual workout against Allister Coetzee’s charges with plenty of excitement.

First-up, however, is a tough almost week-long camp at Alan Zondagh’s world-class Rugby Performance Centre where Foote and his coaching staff (which now also includes former Leinster prop Stephen Knoop) will fine-tune their players – and the UCT gameplan – ahead of Saturday’s fixture.

Despite taking a well-deserved break over the 2010/11 Festive Season, UCT were already hard at work during the early weeks of summer last year as they began preparing for the fourth-ever FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International.

That hard work will continue in Riebeek West this coming week, according to Ikeys captain and loose forward Nick Fenton-Wells: “We’ve had a great pre-season – which saw us go from Kalk Bay to Bishops to Ceres – and back – in search of fun times, strongman sessions and plenty on-field sessions – but we’re all looking forward to getting down to some more hard work at the RPC.

“Playing against the Stormers last year was a big highlight for us and we’re obviously all looking forward to this weekend’s game, too.”

Whilst an unknown player like Marcel Brache made a name for himself with a superb showing against the Stormers in 2010, this year he will be amongst eight Ikey players who will form part of the opposition.

Speaking about the make-up of the UCT squad, without their current WP and Stormers stars and those older players that have since moved on, Fenton-Wells said: “Although our squad is young, it has a fair sprinkling of older faces like Wesley Chetty, Don Armand and Pete Haw, all of whom were part of the 2008 squad.

“It is no doubt one of the stronger squads UCT has produced since the beginning of the Varsity Cup competition (in 2008),” he added.

* UCT, as part of their Varsity Cup build-up, will also be playing pre-season matches against UWC (who will be playing in the Varsity Shield) and a Western Province XV in the coming weeks.

The Cape side, who have appeared in two Varsity Cup finals, will kick-off their 2011 Varsity Cup campaign against the FNB Shimlas – in Bloemfontein – on Monday, February 7.

By James Kingston

Stellenbosch also set for Stormers warm-up

The FNB Maties, the reigning Varsity Cup champions, will – like their Western Cape rivals, UCT – get their pre-season preparations underway with a clash against the Stormers this coming Saturday.

The Maties, who have lifted the Varsity Cup trophy three years in a row, will face up to the Stormers at 9.30am at Alan Zondagh’s RPC fields.

The Ikeys, who lost to the Maties in the 2008 and 2010 finals, are then next up against the losing 2010 Super finalists.

Head coach Chean Roux told varsitycup.co.za: “We’ve been back at training for just over a week now, since our December break, and Saturday’s match will be a great indication (for us) as to where we are.

“There are three things I want the guys to concentrate on – one of which are our line-outs – and then we can deal with the rest later.”

The Men in Maroon will also play against the Stormers next weekend (January 22) at the Danie Craven Stadium, before turning their attention to their 2011 opener against the NWU-Pukke on Monday, February 7.

“Last year, if you remember, we played just one warm-up match – against a WP XV at Newlands,” explained Roux, when asked about his team’s build-up to the fourth-ever FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International.

“To be honest, our real hard at work will start from after that game on the 22nd, when we get some players back from the Stormers/WP training group.

“Even then you don’t really need more official pre-season matches. It’s all about structuring your training sessions to work for you.”

Roux, 35, will be coaching the Maties for the fourth Varsity Cup season in a row; having been at the helm for all three of their title-winning seasons thus far.