How Glasgow Warriors can quieten down Stormers ‘magician’ in URC quarter-final

When the Stormers won the inaugural United Rugby Championship in 2022, Manie Libbok started all but one of their 21 matches, pulling the strings as the South African side finished second in the league then beat Edinburgh, Ulster and the Bulls in the knockout rounds to lift the trophy.

The Stormers fell just short in their bid to retain their title last year, losing narrowly at home to Munster in the final despite Libbok’s early try, but the stand-off is the man who makes them tick and has been identified by Glasgow Warriors as player who must be curbed if they are to reach the URC semi-finals for the first time.

A home quarter-final tie is Glasgow’s reward for finishing fourth in this season’s URC, one place above the Stormers, and the sides will meet at Scotstoun on Saturday night for the right to face Munster or the Ospreys in the semis. While there’s no denying the Stormers’ pedigree and their ability to prosper in knockout rugby, Glasgow attack coach Nigel Carolan believes they can follow the Munster example, particularly if they can keep Libbok quiet.

Glasgow Warriors will aim to make life uncomfortable for Stormers stand-off Manie Libbok at Scotstoun in the URC quarter-finals. (Photo by Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

“Munster brought their A game to Cape Town last year and I think that’s going to be important for us, that we bring our game and we don’t go away from what’s worked for us,” he said.

“Stormers are an extremely physical team but they’ve also got massive x-factor and one of the best 10s in the business in Manie Libbok. I think if you can quieten him and get him off his game they don’t function as well and it’s going to be important we make sure there’s plenty heat on him at Scotstoun, on both sides of the ball.

“He’s a magician and if you can take some of that flair and magic away you can make them ordinary enough.”

With players of the calibre of Evan Roos, Warrick Gelant, Dan du Plessis, Herschel Jantjies and Frans Malherbe, Stormers are hardly a one-man team but Libbok possesses the stardust which can change a game in an instant. His no-look kick-pass to set up Kurt-Lee Arendse for a try in South Africa's win over Scotland at the Rugby World Cup was a prime example and Glasgow know they need to disrupt the playmaker.

“We’ve got a few guys in our own squad here who were talking about it this morning and how they can make his life a little bit more uncomfortable,” added Carolan.

“Not all our plays need to go out the back, some of them can target his channel as well. Even if he moves - sometimes you can hide players like that - but we can seek him out.

“But it’s not all about him. We’re trying to focus on the things that work well for us and not necessarily just going after one guy. You can lose your focus if you focus too much on the opposition and less on what you do, so we’ve got to focus on things that have got us to the knockout stage and make sure we bring an excellent version of them.”

It’s a huge occasion for the Warriors who have yet to lose on their own patch in the URC this season. That was also the case at this stage last season but they then came undone in their home quarter-final against Munster. Carolan has stressed the importance of sticking to their principles and retaining composure on Saturday as they seek to avoid a repeat.

“We need to be really true to our DNA and what’s got us here and not get bogged down in frustration when things don’t go your way,” he said.

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