DHL Stormers coach John Dobson finally got to see most of his players get a proper hit out ahead of next week’s departure for their first Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash against the Ospreys in Swansea and he pronounced himself satisfied with what he saw.
The Stormers ran in seven tries against the Airlink Pumas in a hastily arranged practice game played at the Nelspruit Rugby Club on Wednesday afternoon, with the URC franchise team winning 45-26.
However, with the Stormers using 26 players and rotating their selections in the second half, the scoreline was not important and the first half, with the Cape side leading 33-7 at halftime, was probably the most relevant part of the game when it comes to the expectations for the forthcoming three week European tour.
The match marked the return to the playing field of stalwart centre Ruhan Nel, who has been out since before New Year, and he marked his return by scoring a brace of tries. Wing Leolin Zas, who was also out injured in the latter part of last season, also scored two tries.
Outside centre Nel scored both his tries in the first 15 minutes as the Stormers got off to a strong start and his midifeld partner added another on the 20 minute mark to enable the visitors to take a 19-0 lead into the first water break.
Water breaks were important on the day because one of the reasons it was a good workout for the Stormers was that the game was played in 33 degrees heat, thus testing the conditioning of the players and giving them a good tester of their fitness ahead of the new URC season.
“It was a really good experience for us, the game was played in very tough conditions with high humidity and a temperature well over 33 degrees,” said Dobson afterwards.
“We had a really good first half and I was really relieved to get guys who haven’t played or are essential to our campaign like Ruhan and Dan and Brokkie (Brok Harris) and Keke (Morabe) back onto the field and they all played really well. The second half was a bit tougher and both teams made a lot of changes so it ended up being a very tight second half.
“But it was a very good experience for us and we didn’t pick up any injuries and we went through a really tough hit out in what were really tough conditions. It was nice to confirm some of the things we have been working on on the field and I think it was an essential exercise before we play the Ospreys next week.”
Scorers for DHL Stormers squad - Tries: Ruhan Nel 2, Leolin Zas 2, Dan du Plessis, Saka Makata, Luke Burger; Conversions: Jurie Matthee 5
DHL Stormers squad that played in Nelspruit
Backs

Angelo Davids, Dan du Plessis, Jean-Luc du Plessis, Jurie Matthee, Leolin Zas, Luke Burger, Paul de Wet, Ruhan Nel, Sako Makata, Stefan Ungerer, Wandesile Simelane.
Forwards
Andre-Hugo Venter, Adre Smith, Brok Harris, Dave Ewers, Hendre Stassen, JD Schickerling, Joseph Dweba, Keke Morabe, Leon Lyons, Marcel Theunissen, Neethling Fouche, Ruben van Heerden, Sibusiso Sangweni, Willie Engelbrecht, Zachary Porthen.