Stormers out to prove Leinster win wasn’t a fluke against Ospreys

There will be no complacency from the Stormers when they take on the Ospreys on Friday in Cape Town in the second round of the United Rugby Championship (URC).

That is the assurance director of rugby John Dobson gave ahead of the clash at the DHL Stadium (7pm kick-off), after his side started the new season with a 35-0 rout of Leinster in the Mother City last week.

Dobson only made three strategic changes to the side from the opening clash, bringing in scrumhalf Dewaldt Duvenage, who is set to play his 100th match for the Cape side. Lock Adré Smith will also reach a milestone, bringing up half a century of games for the Stormers.

Up front, Marcell Theunissen and Connor Evans join the fray as loose forwards with eighthman Evan Roos, while fetcher Paul de Villiers and Springbok Ben-Jason Dixon are set to make an impact off the bench whenever they are called upon. Dobson selected a 6-2 split among the replacements, which shows their intent up front. The six forwards on the bench will make up an almost entirely new pack when they are let loose.

Dobson says they are aware of the challenge the Welsh side presents, and they are up for it.

“To get the guys on that level (of last week) would’ve been a concern if we didn’t see how well the Ospreys performed at Loftus,” Dobson said on Thursday.

“We would’ve learned this lesson a couple of years ago when we went toe-to-toe with La Rochelle, and the next week we played the Ospreys and didn’t walk the walk. We know our record against them over the last three games is a draw-loss-loss one. So, there is not a lot of room for complacency.

“On Monday, the guys reset very well. The feedback from the Leinster game was brilliant.

"We will see how things go on Friday. However, the feeling is that the guys are desperate to back up that Leinster performance.”

After this duel, the Cape side will hit the road and travel for three weeks in Europe. So, they need another victory to provide some much-needed momentum for their first URC tour of the new season.

They don’t want the Leinster rout to be seen as a fluke. The aim is to build a strong opening innings that should set them up for the rest of the season.

“If we get through this five-game spell with four wins, we would be in a nice position. If some things go wrong against the Ospreys, then we must win all three on the road if our goal is four victories. From that point of view, Friday is very important.”

Dobson confirmed that his Springbok stars will join them from next week, hopefully with the high of winning a Rugby Championship title. However, they will manage their return to the team.

Stormers starting XV: 15 Wandisile Simelane, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel (captain), 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Connor Evans, 6 Marcel Theunissen, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Adré Smith, 3 Neethling Fouché, 2 André-Hugo Venter, 1 Vernon Matongo; Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Ruben van Heerden, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Paul de Villiers, 22 Stefan Ungerer, 23 Clinton Swart.