Robert du Preez’s homecoming is certainly one of a number of flamable backstories to Saturday’s Champions Cup conflict at in Cape Town, which guarantees fireworks when the Stormers host the Sale Sharks.

The eldest of the three Du Preez brothers, 31-year-old Robert has carved out a distinguished profession in England, however his rugby journey started on South African soil and it was in Cape Town the place his skilled profession took flight.

A standout schoolboy at Kearsney College and the ‘Player that Rocks’ for Stellenbosch University’s Maties throughout the 2014 Varsity Cup, Robert’s rise noticed him change Durban for Cape Town to play for Western Province and the Stormers from 2015 to 2017.

However, his highway to Sale was paved with setbacks. Selected together with brothers Jean-Luc and Dan for the Springboks in 2018, Robert’s Test debut towards Wales in Washington D.C. led to heartbreak after a pricey cost down within the last minutes resulted in Rassie Erasmus’ tenure as Bok coach starting with a 22-20 reverse.

Du Preez joined Sale later that yr, initially on mortgage, and has since turn into a key participant in his 148 appearances, profitable the Premiership Rugby Cup in 2020, and sustaining a 60% win price for the Manchester membership.

Du Preez has confronted his former crew earlier than. Last season, he contributed 9 factors in a slim loss to the Stormers, along with his 40m penalty within the second half threatening a comeback earlier than the Stormers sealed the match with a surprising breakaway attempt.

Robert du Preez is now 31-years-old

He now returns to Cape Town with much more expertise, prepared to guide Sale’s cost towards a Stormers aspect bolstered by a famously giant, and vocal, house crowd.

Ernst van Rhyn, one other South African ahead for the Sharks, can be a former Maties star who performed greater than 50 matches for the Stormers below coach John Dobson. Van Rhyn has been a standout performer since becoming a member of Sale in 2023; a pillar of consistency within the trenches his work-rate is the stuff of legend and he has a giant urge for food for defence – attributes Van Rhyn will probably be desirous to drive house towards his former membership.

Du Preez’s twin brothers are terrifying behemoths, famend for his or her ball expertise as a lot as brute power. Key cogs in Sale’s formidable pack, Jean-Luc and Dan are dynamic within the tight free, combining uncooked physicality within the carry with a penchant for locating methods to dump within the sort out.

Fans will bear in mind final season’s thriller in Cape Town, the place winger Leolin Zas and loose-forward Hacjivah Dayimani produced moments of magic to safe a dramatic 31-24 Stormers victory towards Sale.

For the likes of Van Rhyn and the Du Preezs, Saturday’s conflict is an opportunity to shine in entrance of their countrymen, reviving mid-table Sale from a disappointing Gallagher English Premiership loss at Gloucester and boosting the membership’s probabilities of advancing to the Investec Champions Cup playoffs.

For the Stormers, it’s about clinching their first win within the competitors this season, and proving to themselves that the momentum gained from successive Vodacom URC derby victories was the beginning of one thing particular.

Are you stunned the brothers haven’t performed extra worldwide rugby?

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