Last season the DHL Stormers travelled to The Stoop in London to play Harlequins in their second round Investec Champions Cup game and were thumped 53-16 but much has changed ahead of Sunday’s repeat clash between the two teams at the same venue.
The Stormers, having lost their opening home game to Toulon in Gqeberha the week before that, went very under-strength to England for that game. There was good reason for that - they were struggling in the Vodacom URC at the time ahead of a testing derby phase and it is generally acknowledged that if you lose a home game in the Champions Cup your chances of advancing very far diminish significantly.
The Toulon defeat was effectively the end of the Stormers’ European challenge last year (actually December 2024) and with all the top players resting they went in at The Stoop effectively anticipating what eventually happened. But now the Stormers are comfortably topping the URC log. While the short turnaround to the home game against Leicester Tigers means they will leave many of their big guns behind again, the team won’t be quite as weakened this time.
STATE OF QUINS OFFERS OPPORTUNITY
Plus, although the result of Harlequins’ most recent game, which was a 66-21 defeat to Northampton in the Premiership, there’s reason for the Stormers to feel there’s an opportunity for them in Sunday’s game.
While their home opponents six days later, Leicester, were registering an excellent 36-28 win over Saracens after leading 26-7 at one point, thus showing they will be formidable opponents at the DHL Stadium, Harlequins were busy issuing a joint statement through their CEO Laurie Dalrymple and chairman Dave Morgan in an attempt to placate fans who are understandably alarmed at their team’s form.
The big loss to the Premiership leaders had followed on from a 40-14 defeat to the Bristol Bears and a 43-17 loss to Sale and the Quins have now lost seven of their nine Premiership games and currently find themselves eighth on the log in the English league.
CHANGE OF COACH BUT PRESSURE MOUNTING ON NEW ONE
Quins have already changed one coach this season after Danny Wilson left for Wales and his replacement is under massive pressure given the results and the joint statement that explicitly stated that the “results are not considered acceptable by anyone in the club”.
That means that much like the Vodacom Bulls, who the Stormers hosted and beat in the URC at the weekend, the Cape side’s next opponents can be seen as a team in crisis. In the Bulls’ instance the level of their determination in an ultimately losing cause vindicated the Stormers’ contention that the level of desperation would make them more dangerous, and we could see the same on Sunday.
At the same time, it might be tempting considering their apparent vulnerability for Dobson to go what he would term “Full Metal Jacket” in his approach, meaning he calls out his strongest selection. The logistics of the travel and short turnaround to the Leicester game on the other side of the equator make that impossible, but Dobson is adamant that he now has enough depth to chase a win even with a changed up selection.
“We are going to have to select with the game in Cape Town and short turnaround in mind, but it will be different to last year,” said Dobson after his team’s 13-8 win over the Bulls that preserved their perfect record in the URC after eight matches.
“It’ll be a team that we think can win in London. The big thing has been our growth and our squad depth, which is the most important part of the project. Suleiman Hartzenberg was the 41st player we’ve used this season (when he came on against the Lions before Christmas), which is good in terms of what it shows about our growth.”
SOME REGULARS MAY PLAY IN LONDON
Dobson said after the Lions game that all the players he has used this season he would have faith in to back in big games and it is starting to get to that point. He hinted that some of the regulars such as Warrick Gelant and Damian Willemse will be part of the mix in London, and the success story that has been wing Dylan Maart, on loan from Griquas, means that it is probable that Hartzenberg may line up in his preferred position of outside centre against Harlequins.
JC Mars is one of the players who was blooded in the corresponding game last year, and scored a try, and Dobson sounds eager to give him another chance, possibly as a starter on the other wing. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Cobus Reinach will be rested in preparation for the Leicester game but Jurie Matthee and Stefan Ungerer (possibly Imad Khan too) are a good halfback pairing for a game played in northern hemisphere conditions.
Another player who made his debut against Harlequins last year is Vernon Matongo, the loosehead who was left out of the match day 23 for the Bulls game but has made huge strides in the past year. Ali Vermaak was injured against the Bulls but with Oli Kebble also on the Stormers’ books, the Stormers can still afford to rest Vernon Matongo.
Scarra Ntubeni is an experienced hooker who needs game time and at tighthead there’s Bok capped Zachary Porthen itching game-time as well as the regular backup tighthead Sazi Sandi.
Adre Smith hasn’t started in a while and this might be an opportunity and if Dobson doesn’t want to take Ruben van Heerden to London he does have the alternative of Connor Evans and then there are several loose-forward options beyond Evan Roos and Ben-Jason Dixon and it will be interesting to see if, considering he played off the bench against the Bulls, Paul de Villiers might be on the plane to London on Tuesday.
NEED AT LEAST ONE POINT FROM THE GAME
What Dobson is sure of is that he wants his team to secure a home playoff game in the Champions Cup and even though they currently top their pool alongside Leinster, both with two wins and nine points, he reckons they need to return from The Stoop with log points if they are to achieve their objective.
“It’s going to be tough but we worked out that if we want to host a Champions Cup playoff, we have to get a point at least. And if you’re going for a point, you might as well go for the win because nobody plays to lose within seven.”
Two seasons ago the Stormers went under-strength to Leicester and pushed them all the way before succumbing in the final minutes and some of the players involved in that game will probably play again - Matthee and Hartzenberg being two - and Dobson is hopeful that they can make it a win this time.
With the other big change to have happened at the Stormers since their last trip to The Stoop being the turnaround of their overseas form - they’ve won all five games played overseas this season - that now appears a more realistic objective than it would have been just under 13 months ago.
Sunday’s game in London will kick off at 15.00 SA time.