Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Stormers ready to hook Sharks
THE Stormers’United Rugby Championship clash against the Sharks today (kick-off 5.05pm) presents the perfect opportunity to hit their stride after their confidence-boosting victory over the Bulls last week.
At Loftus last weekend, the Stormers came from behind to bag a 30-26 win against their ageold rivals.
Fighting back to come out on top is always a positive - doing so against a star-studded Bulls outfit, even more so. And that’s exactly what they did.
Granted, the Stormers led 18-7 at half time, so it’s not like the odds were against them in terms of points in that first half. But the Bulls surpassed them in points after the break, and the fact that the Stormers stayed in it till the end and orchestrated a late try against such quality opposition - is certainly worth a mention given the issues they’ve had with closing out games in the past.
Today, the Capetonians will again face a Springbok-laden unit.
While the likes of Boks Lukhanyo Am, try-machine Makazole Mapimpi (who wreaked havoc last weekend), Aphelele Fassi, Ox Nche and Sbu Nkosi are all in the mix, the names of former Stormers Siya Kolisi and Bongi Mbonambi naturally stand out given their former affiliations.
Racking up as many points and positive results before heading abroad will also surely motivate the Stormers to go out there and get another ‘W’, especially considering the rather tough introduction the South African teams faced to the competition in Europe last year.
After this game, the Cape side have a date with the Sharks at Cape Town Stadium, before they travel to Johannesburg to face the Lions on February 12. After that, they head to Ireland to face Connacht on February 26, before returning to South Africa.
While they have seemingly tried to keep it consistent, there are two injury-enforced changes to the Stormers pack. In total, there are three changes to the starting line-up that defeated the Bulls Pretoria last weekend.
Lock Salmaan Moerat (knee) and No.8 Evan Roos (minor rib injury) have both been ruled out, with Adre Smith and Hacjivah Dayimani coming in to replace them in the run-on side.
The only change to the backline sees Angelo Davids start on the right wing.
Among the loose forwards, Nama Xaba and Marcel Theunissen have both been named on the bench after solid performances for Western Province in the Currie Cup.
On his selections for the coastal derby, Stormers head coach John Dobson said: “While it was disappointing to lose Salmaan and Evan this week, we are looking forward to seeing what all of the players coming in this week can add.
“Evan picked up a minor knock on his rib, so we are managing him conservatively, while also keen to see what Hacjivah can do at the back of the scrum.
“Angelo, Nama and Marcel have all performed well for Western Province and will be looking to grab this opportunity,” he said.
STORMERS TEAM:
15 Damian Willemse 14 Angelo Davids 13 Ruhan Nel 12 Rikus Pretorius 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Manie Libbok 9 Herschel Jantjies 8 Hacjivah Dayimani 7 Ernst van Rhyn 6 Deon Fourie 5 Marvin Orie 4 Adre Smith 3 Sazi Sandi 2 Scarra Ntubeni 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain).
Bench:
16 Andre-Hugo Venter 17 Leon Lyons 18 Brok Harris 19 Nama Xaba 20 Marcel Theunissen 21 Paul de Wet 22 Dan du Plessis 23 Warrick Gelant.