Stormers to roll out Boks against Leinster
AN almost full-strength Stormers team with their Springboks in tow will most likely head to Ireland towards the end of March to take on Leinster in their backyard in a United Rugby Championship clash.
But before then, the defending URC champions will give their top players a breather after they clinched the South African Shield and achieved a URC grand slam over their compatriots by beating the Sharks 29-23 in Cape Town.
The bonus-point win on Saturday, and the Bulls losing to the Lions, saw the Stormers gain an unassailable lead in the SA Shield with three games left in the regular season.
At the end of the month, it will be the first time that the defending URC champions will head to Leinster. The two teams faced each other once last year with the home side coming out on top at Cape Town Stadium.
So this will be a bit of an unknown trip for coach John Dobson and his troops, which is why he wants all his available top players to experience rugby there.
Leinster (71 points with 15 wins out of 15) are currently the only unbeaten team in the URC and sit comfortably atop the overall standings with the Cape side (59) in second place, with some breathing space between them and third-placed Ulster (54).
The Leinster clash won’t be for top spot, but it will give the Stormers a chance to see how a full-strength team will square up with the Irish club. It can also prepare them if they need to head back to Ireland for a possible final that side later in the season.
Because it’s three weeks before they face Leinster, some players will get a break this week while others will continue to play in the Currie Cup that starts this weekend.
“Some of the guys with high minutes, like your Manie Libbok, Ruhan Nel and Neethling (Fouche) will have the week off, but after that, we’ll start preparing for Leinster with the Springboks back in there," Dobson said.
“We’ll focus more on the Currie Cup this week than the URC and relax some of the guys.
“Some of the Springboks are available for our Currie Cup match against the Sharks on the 24th, but that is the same time we play Leinster. We need to firm up on that.
“I think what is becoming clear to me learning more of this competition is that they might be better off playing Leinster. A really hard game, spend time with the team and see what we can get out of that game.
“Rather than sending them to Durban for a Currie Cup match. That is my sort-of thinking, but I haven’t made a decision yet.”
Dobson and his URC coaches will take the reins in the domestic competition that is set to feature young stand-outs like utility backs Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Suleiman Hartzenberg, as well as loose forwards Marcel Theunissen and Ben-Jason Dixon.
This will keep them match-ready if the Stormers need to call on them ahead of and during the URC playoffs.