Cape Town - We may be past the point of referring to the Stormers merely as “possible title contenders”, but head coach John Dobson isn’t getting ahead of himself just yet by focusing on a home semi-final.
The Cape side, second on the United Rugby Championship standings with 52 points, have everything to play for in their massive clash against log-leaders Leinster at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
The Stormers have now won their last six games in a row - seven at home - and will look to extend that winning run against an under-strength Leinster side this weekend.
After a shaky start to the tournament, three of the four South African teams – the Sharks, Stormers and Bulls – are in the top eight.
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One thing that is certainly a big difference between the Stormers and Leinster is the level of desperation going into this clash...
Leo Cullen’s men just need two log points (currently on 61) to solidify the top spot and secure home advantage in all their play-off matches. With their focus appearing to be on the Champions Cup at the moment, they have named a young side for their fixture in the Mother City.
The fact that Munster beat Ulster last week and the Stormers got the better of Glasgow Warriors made things easier for the Irish giants, who are nine points clear of the top South African side. If the Stormers can beat Leinster and prevent them from getting a bonus point when they meet, the No 1 spot becomes much more than just a pipe dream…granted other results go their way and Munster topple their fellow countrymen next month.
“Everything depends on what happens on Saturday against a good Leinster team,” Dobson explained.
“We are trying to make the play-offs and mathematically we are not there yet, theoretically, Scarlets can still knock us out if they get four points and we drop.”
Dobson also added that how they approach their final league game against Scarlets - as in whether they will go full-strength against the Welsh side or save some players for the knockout stages - will depend on how many points they bag against Leinster.
“Everything depends on Saturday. We are going to have to make a call on Monday and decide what we are going to do.”
Stormers team: 15 Warrick Gelant 14 Seabelo Senatla 13 Ruhan Nel 12 Damian Willemse 11 Leolin Zas 10 Manie Libbok 9 Herschel Jantjies 8 Evan Roos 7 Hacjivah Dayimani 6 Deon Fourie 5 Marvin Orie 4 Adre Smith 3 Frans Malherbe 2 JJ Kotze 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain).
Replacements: 16 Wilmar Arnoldi 17 Brok Harris 18 Neethling Fouché 19 Salmaan Moerat 20 Junior Pokomela 21 Ben-Jason Dixon 22 Paul de Wet 23 Juan de Jongh.