Seabelo Senatla warns Champions Cup opponents of Stormers' flair

Stormers flyer Seabelo Senatla has issued a warning to the other teams in Pool B of the Champions Cup to expect some flair from his side in their maiden campaign in the competition.

The United Rugby Championship (URC) teams already know how dangerous the Stormers are on attack, after they won that tournament in its inaugural season.

"I think it's going to be pretty similar to what we brought to the URC," Senatla told the Champions Cup's official website. "We brought a little bit more flair and running off the ball.

"I think the Northern Hemisphere teams tend to keep everything quite safe and that's how they play the game â- they're quite systematic, well structured, well oiled, very technical, very tactical.

"At the Stormers we try to play with more instinct and try to use intuition in our play more. You'll see we put some air into the ball and try to use feet and skill to beat people, instead of using a whole system."

The Stormers are in a difficult pool and make their debut in the competition in an away match against French outfit Clermont Auvergne on Saturday and then take on London Irish in back-to-back matches before hosting Clermont in their final pool match in Cape Town.

"My first impressions [of the Heineken Champions Cup] would definitely be that it is something quite equivalent to the heights of something like the Champions League, if you think of soccer," added Senatla, who has been sidelined since September with a pectoral injury.

"It's the best of the best coming out to play each other, so it's nice for us, because as an athlete, you always want to be measuring yourself against the best.

"If you're playing against the best of the best, then you get to measure yourself up there. It's quite exciting for us to get our first go at it.

"You hear stories about the rich, rich history of certain clubs, your Toulons and Saracens. You want to test yourself against that history and make some of your own."

Senatla sustained his injury in the Stormers' opening game of the URC campaign against Connacht and he will be sidelined until 2023, which means he will miss the pool stage of this season's Champions Cup.

"I'm glad I'm not going to France because it's quite cold." he joked. "My injury came around at the right time!

"Hopefully, we'll still be in the competition when I come back. I'll be pushing them hard so I can play when it's warm!"