It would be a major upset if what should effectively be the DHL Stormers second string team, and with the injury problems the franchise has you could almost make it a third string side, manages to beat Harlequins in their second Investec Champions Cup game on Saturday.
It is notoriously difficult to win overseas in the European competition, and Harlequins have a point to prove after losing to Racing 92 in their first game so they will be going in against the Stormers at full strength. The Stormers lost to Toulon in a home game first up but always planned to send an alternative team to London because of the logistical challenge posed by having two crucial Vodacom United Rugby Championship derbies lined up soon after their return.
The Stormers host the Emirates Lions at the DHL Stadium on 21 December, exactly a week after they play at the Stoop, and then the return game against the Hollywoodbets Sharks a week later. With their Champions Cup status for next season now under threat after losing four of their first six URC games, it is understandable that the Stormers are focusing on getting into the top half in that competition.
WELFORD ROAD GAME PROVIDES A POINTER
Although they won’t say it publicly for understandable reasons, the Stormers management are realistic enough to see the home defeat that started the competition for them as the death-knell to their chances of making the round of 16. Not that the defeat in Gqeberha impacts on the Stormers’ selection for the Harlequins game - they were always going to go under-strength to the Stoop, just as they did last year when they went to Welford Road to play Leicester Tigers.
As we saw in that game against the Tigers, picking an under-strength side does not mean the Stormers aren’t going out to try and win the game, something they came pretty close to against Julian Montoya’s Tigers 12 months ago. In that game the Stormers were trailing by just a few points and pressing for the win with four minutes to go when a refereeing decision went against them and Leicester ended up scoring on the other end of the field to cruelly deny them what would have been a deserved losing bonus point.
Stormers defence coach Norman Laker, who will only fly out on Wednesday night as he has stayed in Cape Town to help the team that will play the Lions on Saturday week start their preparations, is expecting the team that will play in London to be imbued with a similar fighting spirit.
“I’m going to lie to you if I say we’re just going to go to compete; it’s not in our blood or who we are. We’re going to go to get a win,” said Laker.
“Everyone is preparing well for it, and we’re looking forward to the game. It’ll be a good test for us, it isn’t easy going to Europe to get a win but not impossible. On the day the ball can bounce our side and we can pull off a win.”
Of course, what would really be news would be if Laker said something less expected, like “We know we have no hope in this game, we don’t have players who are up to it and we have set 72 as the score we don’t want Harlequins to reach.” A coach will always talk up his team and not talk it down.
SHOULD GIVE GOOD ACCOUNT OF THEMSELVES
But while it would be a bit farfetched to expect a Stormers win, he is right - and the Stormers second stringers, even at this time when they are a third string team because of all the injuries, could give a good account of themselves. For a start, the team will be filled with players who are getting a rare opportunity to prove themselves, just as was the case with some success last year, when even in defeat the Welford Road experience was seen as a turning point in the season as it gave them confidence in the depth available.
Laker did not give much away when it came to what players have travelled to London, but he did confirm that fit again Springbok lock Salmaan Moerat has flown to England, as has flyhalf Jurie Matthee, who was the hero of the game against Leicester last year. Indeed, the game management shown by Matthee in that game might be just what the Stormers need at this juncture of their campaign.
Moerat should lead the side, and he will have a choice of quality second row partners to line up alongside him in either Gary Porter or the hugely promising Conor Evans. There’s a host of good hookers on the Stormers books, with Scarra Ntubeni and JJ Kotze springing to mind of those not used in Gqeberha. Veteran scrum guru Brok Harris wasn’t used against Toulon either so we can expect him to play.
At looseforward, with the now injured Keke Morabe and Ben-Jason Dixon not likely to have been used anyway even if they were fit, the Stormers might have to dig deep, but they do have young players like Divan Fuller, Louw Nel and Paul de Villiers, with the latter surely needing to get onto the field sometime given the problems the Stormers have at openside in the absence of the injured Deon Fourie. They talk of De Villiers as the next Heinrich Brussow, which is certainly true when it comes to physical stature.
EWERS SHOULD BRING EXPERIENCE OF ENGLISH CONDITIONS
Dave Ewers, who is experienced in the ways of English club rugby after his many years at Exeter Chiefs, was not used in Gqeberha so it can be assumed he will be there to add experience to whatever loose forward configuration John Dobson will come up with.
At scrumhalf there is Stefan Ungerer, who has the game for northern conditions, plus the exciting young Imad Khan, who is seen as the future in the position at the Stormers. Matthee is a more than useful flyhalf and Jean-Luc du Plessis was good at centre against Toulon. Outside him Wandesile Simelane needs an opportunity to shine, while on the wings there are the likes of Angelo Davids and, because he was used only as a replacement in Gqeberha, the comeback man Seabelo Senatla.
The fitness status of Clayton Blommetjies is uncertain, but he would be the obvious choice at fullback, with all his experience, if he is fit.
OPPORTUNITIES ON THE BENCH
It is on the bench that opportunities could be presented to the likes of centre Jonathan Roche and other potential newcomers, and that is one of the reasons that this game amounts to a big opportunity for the Stormers - not necessarily for a chance to bounce back into Champions Cup contention, but to confirm the readiness of players who get a chance to show what they can do.
“At the moment we do have a lot of injuries, we can’t look away from it. It will take one or two youngsters to make it into a match-day 23 or just train with the team to make sure we have the numbers,” said Laker.
“One or two of them will get an opportunity to prove what they’ve shown us in the Currie Cup,” he added.
The Stormers team will be announced on Friday.