Champions Cup: Stormers’ Ruhan Nel excited to face Exeter Chiefs’ ‘world-class’ Henry Slade

David Skippers
Ruhan Nel and Henry Slade image Stormers v Exeter Champions Cup 2023.jpg

Stormers outside centre Ruhan Nel has described Exeter Chiefs counterpart Henry Slade as “a great player” and is excited to face the England international in Saturday’s Champions Cup quarter-final at Sandy Park.

With plenty at stake now that the tournament has reached its business-end, Nel is looking forward to the challenge that awaits him and his team-mates and is looking forward to measuring himself against a player of Slade’s calibre.

World-class 13

“He’s a great player who kicks, runs, passes, is a good defender, (with) good communication skills and (has) a great workrate, all things needed to make you not only a world-class 13 but also a world-class player,” said Nel.

“It’s always great when you can square off with some of the best guys around the globe, and Henry definitely fits into that category.”

Nel said he enjoys playing in the Champions Cup‘s knockout rounds and knows the intensity levels are set to go a notch up in their hitout against the Chiefs.

Despite the mounting pressure in the competition, the former Springbok Sevens star is thriving in the pressure cooker environment of knock-out phase rugby and welcomes the challenge which awaits him on Saturday.

“At the end of the day, it’s now down to the business-end of the competition; it’s the best of the best, so opportunities are becoming less and pressure is becoming more, so it’s about who can convert that pressure into points when it counts,” he said.

The Stormers were dominant during long parts of last week’s round-of-16 encounter against Harlequins in Cape Town, and after racing into a 32-7 lead, they took their foot off the pedal, and Quins finished stronger in their 32-28 defeat.

Nel said the Stormers took some valuable lessons from their poor finish to that match.

“We felt so in control of the entire game up until the 73rd minute [against Harlequins]. I think it was a combination of things that happened on the field at that point,” he said.

“It was things we were aware of that might happen, and it did, and our ability to have stopped that late surge is something that always comes down to one or two lucky bounces or plays that we have to be sharp on; otherwise, you find yourself under your poles.”

Wary of Exeter Chiefs

Nel expects a similarly determined performance from Exeter and is wary of Rob Baxter’s charges after watching their last-16 encounter against Montpellier, which went into extra-time on Sunday.

“I think if there’s one thing that [Exeter] game has shown us is the fight and desperation these guys play with,” he said. “They play with intensity, and a healthy balance between running, kicking and running it up the guts, complemented with good defence systems.”

READ MORE: Champions Cup: Former Exeter star Ruben van Heerden expects ‘massive’ Stormers performance