Leyds thriving on “do or die” atmosphere

Dillyn Leyds had a conversation with a teammate during last week’s penultimate Vodacom Super Rugby clash with the Sunwolves that reminded him just how much he might miss Newlands when he says goodbye to his career at the DHL Stormers.

The chat took place early in the game, with new cap Edwill van der Merwe being the teammate that Leyds conversed with.

"Edwill came up to me after 20 minutes of the game last week and told me that ‘this is the best feeling I’ve ever experienced’," said Leyds in looking ahead to what is expected to be his last home game for the Cape franchise.

Leyds did not want to dwell on the likelihood that he will be heading off to join former Stormers teammates Nizaam Carr and Juan de Jongh at Wasps at the end of the season. But in stressing that his sole focus was to keep the Stormers hopes of Super Rugby glory alive by helping them win the coastal derby against the Sharks, he also didn’t deny that it will be an emotional day for him and quite possibly the curtain call on his career in the Cape.

"This game could be the last game that some guys will play for the Stormers at Newlands,” said the 26-year-old.

"I am not thinking about my future right now. A lot was said about that a little while ago, but I am not thinking too much about it as I am just wanting to keep the Stormers of 2019 alive. We will deal with all of that afterwards. When it is time to say goodbye."

What Leyds is relishing though is the prospect of playing in what has effectively become a play-off fixture, with the winner advancing to the Super Rugby play-offs as a wild card qualifier and the loser having to accept that their campaign is over.

"This is a do or die weekend, it is exactly that. But it is quite nice. Hopefully it puts us in the play-off mindset. It is always enjoyable preparing for a game like this. Both teams want victory and it will be a typical South African derby. The Sharks have been good all year and we know they are a big physical side. They will try to impose that on us and we just have to stand up."

Leyds said that before it became known that the Sharks will be missing some of the players that make them so physical when they head to Cape Town. Jean-Luc du Preez has been ruled out with the MCL injury that kept him from playing against the Jaguares last week and Ruan Botha, the big lock who is very much the Sharks’ enforcer when he is present, has joined him on the sidelines.

Also out is Curwin Bosch, who may or may not have played flyhalf at the weekend had he been fit but either way will be missed for both his X-factor and his long and gifted field kicking boot. That means that Leyd has one less thing to worry about when it comes to the fullback role that he has been reacquainted with subsequent to the injury that has ruled out Damian Willemse.

The latter was a big factor in the Stormers’ win over the Sharks in Durban in early March for his aerial skills, but Leyds is a player who is well equipped to punish any misdirected opposition field kicks as he is one of the best counter-attackers in South African rugby. After a bit of a dip in 2018, Leyds has regained his best form and can’t be too far away from regaining the place in the Springbok squad that was his in 2016 and 2017.

"I am always happy whatever position I play for the Stormers. I haven’t played fullback since the third round, but Damian has been very good. And the back three before Sergeal (Petersen) got injured was really good. But then Seabelo Senatla stepped up to the plate and hopefully he will be back this week. For me I just just want to be part of this game, to take part in what could be our last game at Newlands, which is a very special venue and one we are all emotional about.

"The way the Sharks play they don’t look to play rugby in their half. They have good tactical kickers so as a back three we have looked at it and seen that as a strength of their game we must be ready for it. The Sunwolves kicked quite a bit on us last week, which was obviously their plan, but I thought we handled it well.

"We have done a lot of work on our aerial skills with kicking coach Gareth Wright. He has put us to put in a lot of extras after training and I think it has been paying off. If we deal with the high balls effectively we will take that threat and that weapon away from the Sharks."

Leyds made no secret of the fact that the Stormers will be looking to impose their tempo on this game, something that they failed to do against the Sunwolves last week and were even accused by their opponent afterwards of trying to slow the game down.

"Frustration is what has come out of our reviews of last week’s game against the Sunwolves,” said Leyds.

"There were a lot of positives but we left plenty of points and lots of opportunities on the table. We had a slow start. We wanted to play a high temp and fast game but because of the start we got, making lots of mistakes, we weren’t able to do that. We knew we had a couple of new guys and a couple of first time combinations so it was important for us to settle before we could get going and push the tempo.

"As this is a do or die match we want to play to our strengths, and the tempo in most of our games has been good. Our mindset has not changed. I am not sure how many will play, but it is great to see a lot of familiar faces back in training. Obviously everyone wants to be involved in this sort of game."