Stormers under pressure as URC returns with first derby

The DHL Stormers are the local team under the most pressure as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship returns after the international break with the first appetising South African derby of the season in Durban on Saturday.

The Hollywoodbets Sharks will also be desperate to win as they dropped some games they might not have expected to on their overseas tour, but their strong finish to the first phase of the season where they outplayed both the Glasgow Warriors and Munster at Hollywoodbets Kings Park, did give them some momentum.

Their first ever win over Munster was a good salve to the disappointment the Stormers would have felt when they lost heavily to Edinburgh in their last overseas game in mid-October, but there were some disturbing signs when they were brought back to earth again by the reigning champions, Glasgow, in Stellenbosch a week later.

One of the biggest problems for the Stormers is that they haven’t managed to pick up a solitary bonus point from the three games they’ve lost - they’ve all been defeats by more than a score.

Coach John Dobson did not cut a picture of happiness after that game and said it amped up the pressure to win in Durban. It will be interesting to see which Springboks are fit and available to play against the Stormers, as they do have several first choice national players on their books who have played some tough international rugby over the past few weeks.

PLUMTREE’S SELECTION WILL BE INTERESTING

With the Sharks set to put a big effort into the Investec Champions Cup, which is the one competition they play entirely with a full strength team, that could also impact on coach John Plumtree’s selections. The Sharks open their campaign in the prestigious European competition the following week.

Dobson doesn’t have a problem with players who’ve been overplayed because of international commitments. Damian Willemse and Frans Malherbe were both selected to tour with the Boks but were prevented from doing so because of injury, and in the end Manie Libbok, who only played the one game against England and even then he was only on for 45 minutes, was the only Stormers player to play international rugby in November.

Two players who played for the Boks earlier in the year were said before the international break to be set to return now, regular captain Salmaan Moerat and flyhalf/utility back Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and if that is the case, and Willemse is also back, the Stormers will be able to select quite a strong team.

CAPE SIDE ARE MISSING FOURIE

One player who has yet to play for the Stormers thus far in the season and who is desperately needed is World Cup winning Bok Deon Fourie. Fourie has been back in training and Dobson said after the Stellenbosch game that the flanker should be back in mid-December. That will be in time for the Christmas home derbies against the Emirates Lions (21 December) and Sharks (28 December).

But the Stormers will be wanting to go into that phase of the URC season in a better position than they are in now, 13th, which means they need to maintain their good recent record in Durban. The Stormers have not lost to the Sharks in a big game since the full strength 2020 Currie Cup semifinal that was played early in 2021 because of Covid.

If the Stormers do win they will get themselves a small modicum of breathing space, but the pressure on the Stormers, who play Toulon in their first Champions Cup game in Gqeberha on 7 December before heading overseas for their first away game in that competition, is going to be massive during the coming month regardless.

Last year they did turn their season around in December, winning both home derbies against the Vodacom Bulls and Sharks as well as beating the then champions of the Champions Cup, La Rochelle, in Cape Town. Something similar will be required now or their Champions Cup status for next season could be in doubt, let alone their chances of grabbing the coveted top four finish they require for a home URC playoff game.

HIGHVELD TEAMS FACE TOUGH AWAY GAMES

The Bulls and Lions should feel they have drawn the short straw when it comes to the fixture list as they have to travel for one off away URC games this week. The Bulls, the beaten finalists from last year, are fronting well again, and there is a bit of distortion to their current third place on the log. The South African teams have played a game less than the overseas sides because they started the season a week later, which is why they are behind Glasgow and not up in second place.

However, they will have to be on target against Connacht, who beat the Sharks in Galway in the first game of the season, if they are to maintain that strong challenge on Franco Smith’s Warriors. Leinster, who play a tough Irish derby against Ulster this week, one made even tougher by the fact that Ireland are playing Australia on the same weekend and that will rule out most of the Leinster team from playing, are currently the runaway leaders at the top of the log.

Munster, who replaced the inaugural champions, the Stormers, when they won the 2022/23 final in Cape Town, as title holders, are in a similar position to the Stormers - they are 12th, just one log point more than the Stormers, and they don’t have the buffer of knowing they have a game in hand.

They start a new life under a new coach after Graham Rowntree parted ways with the province just before the international break by hosting the Lions, who may find the challenge has been made much stiffer by what will be on the line for the hosts in the game at Thomond Park.

The Lions have made a dream start to the season, with their only blemish so far being a largely anticipated defeat to high riding Leinster but they will consider their next two games, both away to Munster this week and then the Stormers just before Christmas, as crucial to their chances of challenging for a top four spot.

WEEKEND VODACOM UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURES

Glasgow Warriors v Scarlets (Glasgow, Friday 21.35)

Ulster v Leinster (Belfast, Friday 21.35)

Hollywoodbets Sharks v DHL Stormers (Durban, Saturday 17.00)

Cardiff v Dragons (Cardiff, Saturday 19.15)

Connacht v Vodacom Bulls (Galway, Saturday 19.30)

Munster v Emirates Lions (Limerick, Saturday 21.35)

Edinburgh v Benetton (Edinburgh, Saturday 21.35)

Zebre v Ospreys (Parma, Saturday 21.35)