Left Photo) Sunwolves Game Captain, Harumichi Tatekawa (centre) training at the captain’s run and (Right Photo) Sunwolves Head Coach, Mark Hammett, talking to media at the pre-match press conference.
Singapore, 13 May 2016 – Following a historic win in Tokyo three weeks ago, Japan’s HITO- Communications Sunwolves, Asia’s first Super Rugby franchise, is back at the Singapore Sports Hub, all set to take on South’s Africa’s DHL Stormers. This match will be the final Super Rugby match that the Sports Hub will be hosting this year.
The Sunwolves, who are currently ranked seventh in the South African group, faced the Stormers during their away match at Cape Town previously.
Said former All Blacks hooker and Sunwolves Head Coach Mark Hammett, “After each game, we reflect on our performance and see how we can improve. Knowing that Stormers are good in their scrums, we have been working on our scrums and are making good progress. I’m very pleased with the players’ performance thus far and am sure they will perform up to expectations tomorrow. It’s our last match in Singapore, and it’d be great if we can achieve our second win in our second home.”
“The win we had in Tokyo motivates us to work harder to achieve better results. In the match against the Forces last week, we made some mistakes in the first half, but managed to make a comeback in the second half. Being in Singapore for the third time this season, we’re used to the weather conditions here and are all ready for a good game this weekend,” said Sunwolves game captain Harumichi Tatekawa.
Sunwolves Captain, Shota Horie, will be on the bench this week, as hooker Takeshi Kizu gets his first start this season. Centre Harumichi Tatekawa will take over the captaincy for the game againstthe Stormers. Timonthy Bond will replace Hitoshi Ono in the second row, and Atsushi Hiwasa will start in place of Kaito Shigeno in the backline.
Their opponents, the visiting Stormers, made four changes. Johnny Kotze will replace Leolin Zas on the wing and Louis Schreuder starts at scrumhalf, with Nic Groom on the replacement bench. Hooker Scarra Ntubeni and lock JD Schickerling will also be in the starting lineup.
Said DHL Stormers Head Coach Robbie Fleck: “Although Sunwolves is a new team in the Super Rugby league, they have made significant developments in the way they play. Momentum is key for the match tomorrow. We’ve had a good break and effective training sessions during the bye week. We will stay focused to deliver a better performance, so as to start this phase with a win.”
One of the latest additions to Super Rugby, Sunwolves are returning to their adopted home venue, the Singapore Sports Hub tomorrow, where they will face South Africa’s DHL Stormers.
The match is the final of three to be held in Singapore this season as part of a deal that will see the Sunwolves play a minimum of three matches at the Singapore Sports Hub each year till 2020. The HITO-Communications Sunwolves played against the Toyota Cheetahs on 12 March, and the Vodacom Bulls on 26 March.
About the upcoming match:
The HITO-Communications Sunwolves and DHL Stormers will go head-to-head tomorrow at 7.45pm. The curtain raiser game between the Singapore National Women’s team and Hong Kong National Women’s Team will begin at 5.30pm. Tickets are available at www.sportshub.com.sg.
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