By Gavin Rich.
An injury to Springbok prop Frans Malherbe has forced coach John Dobson to make one change to his DHL Stormers team for Saturday night’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash with the Emirates Lions in Cape Town.
Malherbe’s as yet undisclosed injury means a starting opportunity for Neethling Fouche at tighthead, with Andre-Hugo Venter and props Brok Harris and Sazi Sandi come in as changes to the bench that did duty for the Stormers in last week’s impressive 37-27 win over the Vodacom Bulls.
A victory over the Lions will leave the Stormers comfortably on top of the South African Shield at the start of 2023, particularly if the Bulls lose to the Cell C Sharks in Durban on the same day. It is, though, a position the Stormers need to be in at this point as they face tough games, including clashes with the top three Irish provinces, a return game against the Bulls and two coastal derbies against the Sharks, in the second half of the competition they won in its inaugural season.
After the win over the Bulls, the biggest challenge faced by Dobson has been to keep his team’s feet on the ground ahead of a clash with the last South African team the Stormers lost to in the URC, a matter of nearly a year and a month ago (the loss to the Lions was on 3 December 2021).
“We were obviously pleased with the result last week in front of what was an incredible crowd at DHL Stadium. We feel that with a bit more time together, this combination can perform even better,” said Dobson.
“We have challenged the players to end the year on a high and reward the fans who come out to watch us on New Year’s Eve. These derby games are so important for our standing in the South African Shield, so we want to make another step up this weekend,” he added.
DHL Stormers team: Damian Willemse, Angelo Davids, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Dan du Plessis, Leolin Zas, Manie Libbok, Paul de Wet, Hacjivah Dayimani, Willie Engelbrecht, Deon Fourie, Marvin Orie, Ben-Jason Dixon, Neethling Fouche, Joseph Dweba, Steven Kitshoff (captain). Replacements: Andre-Hugo Venter, Brok Harris, Sazi Sandi, Connor Evans, Junior Pokomela, Marcel Theunissen, Godlen Masimla, Clayton Blommetjies.