Stormers plan to dazzle in Bay against Dragons, says Dobson
The Stormers are planning to put on a dazzling display of running rugby when they face a pugnacious Welsh Dragons outfit in a crunch showdown in Gqeberha on Saturday, coach John Dobson says.
Interest in the first United Rugby Championship match to be played at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium is high and a sizeable crowd is expected to attend (kickoff 2pm).
The Cape franchise switched their game to the NMB Stadium because of preparations for the HSBC Cape Town Sevens to be held at the DHL Stadium on December 9, 10 and 11.
The defending URC champions will arrive in the Bay with their tails up after thumping Welsh outfit the Scarlets 36-19 in Cape Town on Friday.
On Sunday, the Dragons put up a fighting display before they were beaten 33-25 by the Lions in Johannesburg.
“I promise you we will lay on a show for the people of the region on Saturday,” Dobson said.
“Maybe there is an opportunity for the Stormers to become the region’s team for now even if it is on a part-time basis.
“We are playing a spectatorfriendly brand of rugby.
“The Stormers are super-excited about playing at the iconic Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
“We know there is a passion for rugby in the region.
“When we played a friendly match at Grey High against the Sharks earlier this year in a warmup match there must have been 6,000 people there.
“This will be a more meaningful match in a brilliant environment.”
The Stormers fielded a secondstring side against the Scarlets, but are expected to integrate returning Springbok players into their side for the Dragons clash.
Boks who could come into consideration in the Gqeberha clash are backs Manie Libbok and Damian Willemse, loose forwards Evan Roos and Deon Fourie, locks Salmaan Moerat and Marvin Orie and props Steven Kitshoff and Frans Malherbe.
“There will be Springboks in our line-up to face the Dragons,” Dobson said.
“It will go on an individual basis so I’m not sure [who will play]. We will see.
“Maybe a Stephen Kisthoff or a Frans Malherbe deserves a break.
“It will be individualised, but they will be there.
“I will decide which Springboks play.
“This is an important game for us and we want to make it really lekker for the people of Gqeberha.
“Because next week we go off to play Clermont in France in a Heineken Cup game, I might say to one guy you can miss this.
“Or I might say a Springbok like Marvin Orie can play this game but we will rest him in France. “That is my call.”
The Stormers indicated what fans can expect when they crossed for five tries against the Scarlets.
A win over the Dragons will be a boost for the Stormers before they embark on their quest for glory in the Champions Cup, which features 24 teams drawn from the top eight of the URC, French Top 14 and English Premiership.
The 24 teams are seeded and then divided into two pools of 12.
Each team plays two of the teams in their pool home and away, with the top eight in each pool then moving on to the knockout phase of the tournament in the round of 16.
Tickets for Saturday’s game, starting at R60, are on sale at Ticketpro*.