Buoyed by a big win at home, John Dobson and Deon Fourie said the DHL Stormers will front up to the ‘Galacticos of SA rugby’, the Sharks, at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
The Stormers host their coastal rivals in round 9 of the Vodacom URC, with Dobson’s charges looking to make amends for going down in this derby in Durban at the end of November.
Last week, the Stormers beat the Lions in what marked their third victory in the URC this season while the Sharks stunned the Vodacom Bulls at Kings Park.
Speaking during a team announcement conference on Friday, Dobson and Fourie highlighted the progress made by the Stormers since the last meeting with the Sharks, who will be led by former Stormers captain, Siya Kolisi.
“We definitely got caught in backfield a lot which led to a couple of tries, but if I remember correctly our scrum was excellent,” Dobson told reporters. “But in broken play and in backfield we made a lot of mistakes.
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“The learning there was a lot around game management, where we were playing … They scored off our errors and we’re traditionally a team that scores off other teams’ errors. But that was better last week. Another thing I think has improved since that game is our maul.
“Last week we were backs to the wall and I’ll say the same thing now,” the director of rugby added. “We’re playing a team with a starting pack of six internationals and they’re sort of the Galacticos of SA rugby.
“And on that you’ve got to play above the sum of your parts to win it, which we intend to do.”
Skipper Fourie, who missed the Durban clash due to a knee injury, added: “At the beginning of a season we’re usually a good team in the last 20 minutes, but at the beginning of the URC [this season] we’ve lacked that a bit.
“That Sharks game was the kick-starter of how we fought back, and on the buzzer we almost scored an 80th minute try for the win. I think the fight of the team is beginning to pick up like in the old days.
“I don’t think there’s a lot for us to prove [against the Sharks] but what there is for the squad to do is stick to what we created last week against the Lions.
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“We stuck to our guns, and we stuck to our structure. It’s about staying on task and the rest will fall into place.”
Warrick Gelant will make his 50th appearance for the Stormers in the crunch derby while winger Seabelo Senatla comes in for the injured Leolin Zas.
Dobson addressed the availability of Zas for the Stormers’ Investec Champions Cup clash against the Sale Sharks on 11 January: “Hopefully he’s back, it’s a grade one hamstring strain which is two to three weeks which will put him on the brink for Sale.”
Gelant is a gamebreaker who played a key role as the Stormers charged towards the inaugural URC title in 2021-22, yet the mercurial fullback has his critics.
“What people don’t appreciate is they see the no-look pass or the ball going down, but his positional play and game intelligence… he’s perfect,” Dobson said.
“He’s physically committed and knows his details, and he prides himself on that. It’s just part of Warrick, and Warrick’s Warrick.”
Photo: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images
