By Gavin Rich.
Edinburgh will come to Cape Town this weekend to face a DHL Stormers team that is supremely motivated to trigger the momentum that will see them trade their current lowly ninth position on the Vodacom United Rugby Championship log with a top four place.
The Stormers didn’t even get a bonus point out of their recent loss to the Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria but coach John Dobson is aware that the Loftus defeat was an aberration in what has otherwise been a good period for his team. They are still paying for their four losses on their November tour of the northern hemisphere, but since the loss to Leicester Tigers in England at the beginning of December, the defeat to the Bulls has been their only blemish.
Significantly, the Stormers also haven’t played at the DHL Stadium since they beat Sale Sharks there in early January, and that is adding to the excitement ahead of this week’s clash with a team that is coached by Dobson’s old adversary from the Hollywoodbets Sharks, Sean Everitt. As it happens, Edinburgh are fourth, but as Dobson noted, just four points ahead of his team.
“The result at Loftus put us under a bit of pressure in terms of the log, but we have been here twice before and we are here again,” said the Stormers coach.
“Had we been better on our tour in November, it would have given us a bit more comfort. We were fairy beaten at Loftus, but we are getting towards the sharp end where the season gets defined, and as you can see, the log is very congested. With the exception of the Bulls, every one of the teams ahead of us on the log still have to come to South Africa. It’s a tough place to come at this time of the year.
“So the log is going to change quite a bit over the next four to five weeks. All we can do is win these games at home.”
After the Edinburgh game the Stormers face a crunch clash with Ulster, who they beat twice in Cape Town in the inaugural season of the URC, including the semifinal which was won with a last gasp Manie Libbok conversion. Thereafter comes a huge Investec Champions Cup round of 16 clash with LaRochelle.
It was no surprise to hear Dobson say he wants his team to use their home ground advantage, with DHL Stadium being a venue where they’ve only lost to two teams in the URC – to Munster twice last season and the Emirates Lions way back in 2021.
“I think we are in for a really great autumn series of rugby. Coming up now we have these two big URC games and then the LaRochelle match, and hopefully another playoff after that. It’s specail to be back home because we haven’t played here since January.”
The last time the Stormers played a home URC game it was their one point win over the Sharks just before New Year, and before that there was a derby win over the Bulls. Factor in the narrow win over LaRochelle in the Champions Cup league game, and the Stormers have reason to feel confident that their DHL Stadium fortress is still in place.