Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Sandi suspension leaves Stormers fuming
THE Stormers are fuming, so there’s good reason to believe that they’ll be extra motivated for their United Rugby Championship clash with Zebre Parma at the Stadio Lanfranchi today (kick-off 4pm).
The defending champions will go into the clash without promising prop Sazi Sandi after he was cited for his head-on-head collision with Edinburgh flank Jamie Ritchie last weekend, which saw him red-carded in the 74th minute.
Sandi’s good disciplinary record, early guilty plea and remorse shown earned him a 50% mitigation, which resulted in him copping a threeweek ban. The disciplinary panel overseeing the citing process determined that the offence warranted a mid-range entry point of a six-week suspension.
Nevertheless, the Stormers are “flabbergasted”.
“As a team, management and group of players, we were absolutely flabbergasted with the outcome,” coach John Dobson said yesterday.
“I don’t think anybody is more aware in rugby about the concerns for their safety than the players. Believe it or not, they know when somebody has done a cheap shot or that sort of thing.
“To sanction a young kid like Sazi like that ... You can ban for three weeks, fine, but I think it’s looking like an inconsistent product. I think we are losing players and the public with the inconsistency.
“The other thing that concerns me is that he gets a three-week ban, but I don’t know what else he could have done.
“If a player leads with an elbow or something similar and gets a red card, then that’s understandable. That’s a player behaviour that can be changed.
“I’ve watched that Sazi clip about 100 times. He dipped and I am not sure what else he could have done. I am not sure what they are telling Sazi not to do. I really don’t understand that.
“A player should be treated with some dignity and respect through the process.
“I really feel for Sazi. We will take this up in our own way. We have had a few URC disciplinaries now, which we must try and stop.”
The Stormers have won both their first two URC encounters against Connacht and Edinburgh and are looking to extend their winning start to the second season of the competition.
Salmaan Moerat will captain the Stormers in a team that features a number of changes to the team for the first away match of the season, with new recruit Alapati Leuia set to make his debut for the defending champions at outside centre.
Moerat is joined in the second row by Adre Smith, with Andre Hugo Venter at hooker and Willie Engelbrecht coming into the loose trio.
In the backline, Springbok scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies makes his first start of the season, and Leiua partners Sacha Mngomezulu in midfield, with Damian Willemse moving to fullback.
Bok lock Marvin Orie is on the bench, with Nama Xaba also included among the replacements for his first game of the season. Scrumhalf Paul de Wet and centre Dan du Plessis will offer backline reinforcement after starting in the team’s first two games.
STORMERS: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Alapati Leuia, 12 Sacha Mngomezulu, 11
Angelo Davids, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Willie Engelbrecht, 6 Junior Pokomela, 5
Adre Smith, 4 Salmaan Moerat (capt), 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Andre-Hugo Venter, 1 Ali Vermaak.
Replacements: 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Brok Harris, 19 Marvin Orie, 20 Nama Xaba, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Dan du Plessis