A glance at the extensive injury list and the timing of returns to play combined with the fixture list they face in both competitions makes it apparent that the DHL Stormers may soon have to make the difficult decision to focus their attention on one front rather than across two.
The Stormers’ failure to even get a bonus point in their defeat to Toulon in Gqeberha at the weekend means their chances of following up their achievement of the last two seasons by making the Investec Champions Cup playoffs are now very remote.
With a tough duo of Vodacom United Rugby Championship derbies against the Emirates Lions and then the Hollywoodbets Sharks to follow over the festive season, it is understood that the Stormers have taken a second-string team to London to face Harlequins in their second Champions Cup match.
Next stop London for some Investec Champions Cup against Harlequins. #HARvSTO #iamastormer #dhldelivers pic.twitter.com/RWd258hr1G
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) December 9, 2024
Lose that and the Stormers will have little choice but to accept that their remaining two fixtures in the group phase of the European competition are for pride only. And with the Stormers languishing in 13th place in the URC, and well out of the running for Champions Cup qualification at this point for next season, which would require them to finish at least eighth, it might work for them.
WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY IN DUBLIN
Apart from the remaining Champions Cup games and the two URC derbies, there is also a tough away URC game against Leinster on their schedule before the end of January. That’s going to be a big hurdle for the Stormers regardless, but there may be a small window of opportunity in that Dublin game in the sense that it comes a week after the final Champions Cup pool games, and Leinster do appear to prioritise that competition, and a week before Ireland kick off their 2025 Guinness Six Nations campaign with a tough home fixture against England.
Ireland will probably be in camp on the day of the Stormers game, 25 January, which will mean that Leinster will be under-strength. The Stormers by contrast might be close to full muster by then, particularly if they box cleverly between now and then and don’t risk their resources by playing them in both Champions Cup games that are scheduled for January.
One thing in the Stormers’ favour is that the Leinster game is scheduled for a week after they are in Paris for their final Champions Cup pool game against Racing 92 so there won’t be the potential travel bogey to contend with.
WINS IN BOTH FESTIVE DERBIES CRUCIAL
But Stormers director of rugby John Dobson will be well aware that two wins in the URC derbies over the festive season will be necessary for that Dublin game to be an opportunity for his team to play themselves back into contention in the top half of the table.
The injury list released by the Stormers following the 24-14 defeat to Toulon in Gqeberha is certainly a lengthy one, and only a few of the players currently out will be back for the derbies. Salmaan Moerat (knee), Sti Sithole (ankle), Frans Malherbe (ankle), Deon Fourie (knee) and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu are the players due to return by the end of the month, meaning that they may be in the frame for one or both of the derbies.
Manie Libbok and Ben-Jason Dixon both suffered concussions in the brutal Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium game and will be reassessed as per the HIA protocols after 12 days. Libbok’s condition looked severe as he was taken to hospital. The other player taken to hospital in Gqeberha, loose-forward Keke Morabe, will undergo an operation next Monday and will be out long term.
Other players who will only be back after New Year include Steven Kitshoff (neck), Evan Roos (shoulder), Dan du Plessis (knee), Ben Loader (knee) and Damian Willemse (groin). Of course given the Stormers’ bad luck with injuries thus far this season, there’s a good chance other players will be injured in the meantime.
It all adds up to the Stormers needing to make the smart choice by doing the reverse of what the Sharks did last year when they fell out of URC contention and focused just on their EPCR challenge and putting everything into the key URC games that are coming up.
DHL Stormers fixtures until end of January 2025
Harlequins v DHL Stormers (Investec Champions Cup, London, 14 December)
DHL Stormers v Emirates Lions (Vodacom URC, Cape Town, 21 December)
DHL Stormers v Hollywoodbets Sharks (Vodacom URC, Cape Town, 28 December)
DHL Stormers v Sale Sharks (Investec Champions Cup, Cape Town, 11 January)
Racing 92 v DHL Stormers (Investec Champions Cup, Paris, 18 January)
Leinster v DHL Stormers (Vodacom URC, Dublin, 25 January)