Resting protocols deliver Stormers a Lions dress rehearsal opportunity

The Springbok resting protocols and the way DHL Stormers head coach John Dobson has dealt with them has effectively turned Saturday’s Rainbow Cup SA fixture against the Emirates Lions into a kind of dress rehearsal for the forthcoming match against another kind of Lions.

The Stormers face the British and Irish Lions in the final game the tourists play before the first test of their iconic series against the Springboks at the same Cape Town Stadium venue. The Stormers play the Lions on 17 July while the first test is set for 24 July.

All the local teams playing the Lions are determined to do well against them, with the uniqueness of the experience of playing against the once in every 12 year tourists possibly being more greatly appreciated by the current players than was the case in the previous professional era Lions tours in 1997 and 2009.

Local players have for months been talking about how eager they are to play the Lions, and those that won’t be involved with the Boks have said they are just as determined to play against them, and do well against them, in their franchise colours.

With Covid security protocols having taken away any chance of the South African franchises being at full strength for the Lions tour games like was the case for many of the Lions tour games in New Zealand in 2017, the local teams are going to have to do without their Boks.

In the Stormers’ case that means Damian Willemse, Herschel Jantjies, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi and Steven Kitshoff. It is not known at this point whether Scarra Ntubeni will be available as he could be one of the players released from the Bok squad when it is whittled down after the South African A game against the Lions in Cape Town on 14 July.

Assuming he isn’t though, and after all there are only three days between the South Africa A game and the Stormers game, so it would seem unlikely, that is all the more reason why the Stormers should be giving young Andre-Hugo Venter, who made his debut at Loftus last week, a run against the local version of the Lions this coming weekend.

NTUBENI AND DU TOIT ONLY BOKS PLAYING SATURDAY

Ntubeni and Du Toit, who have both been rested already, will be the only national players in the Stormers team this weekend, and Ruhan Nel, who has been released to return to the Blitzbok preparations for the Olympics. So the team that plays the final Rainbow Cup game will be pretty close to the one that plays the tour game five weeks from now.

Of course, the Currie Cup competition that starts for Western Province with a trip to Loftus on Saturday week, meaning 19 June, will also be a chance for the Stormers to build towards the tour match. However, all the teams playing the touring team have to go into a bubble a good time before the game so not all four Currie Cup games that are scheduled for before the tour game will be able to be used for purposes of preparation for that match.

The bubble situation means all the local franchises are going to have their resources stretched in the phases of the Currie Cup that coincide with their bubble period. However, because of the strength in depth created by their university teams that participate in the Varsity Cup, WP probably don’t face the same challenges as the Sharks will and should still be equipped to wing it in the period when both their Boks and the players involved in the Lions tour game won’t be available to them.

The Lions game, meaning the one involving the British and Irish Lions, is though the big one in the immediate future of the Stormers and in that regard Saturday’s clash is going to be an important building block.

Scrumhalf Jantjies, one of the halfbacks in the Bok group, has been rested by the Stormers already but he seems unlikely to play on Saturday.

“Herschel has had a break already but as you would have noted, he left the field with illness during the match against the Bulls at Loftus last Friday so it is unlikely he will play,” said Dobson.

‘We are anxious to follow SA Rugby’s resting protocols so protocols so Steven Kitshoff, Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi and Damian Willemse won’t be available for the game against the Lions this week.

“We have also released Ruhan Nel to the Blitzboks as we are eager to help out SA Rugby and put the national interest first. Of course, it is also a big deal for Ruhan to be in with a chance of making the team that will go to Tokyo to take part in the Olympics games. I hope Ruhan makes it and the Games take place.”

DU PLESSIS AND PRETORIUS MAY SWOP ROLES

If Nel is part of the Olympic squad, which is likely, he also won’t be available to play the tour game against the Lions, so the anticipated midfield partnership of Dan du Plessis and Rikus Pretorius that will play on Saturday should be the one that will play then. Pretorius is normally the inside centre and Du Plessis the outside centre, but it has often been acknowledged that Du Plessis’ best position is inside centre and Dobson has hinted that he might swop them around for the game against the Lions from Johannesburg.

There is an outside chance that Warrick Gelant will be back from injury in time to play the Lions on 17 July but just in case he won’t be, it will be interesting to see how Sergeal Petersen, who of course is more often a wing, goes at fullback this weekend. Dobson explained that Tristan Lleyds is unavailable for the final Rainbow Cup fixture because he is one of the players being quarantined following the Covid contact in the game between the Cheetahs and a Toyota XV in Bloemfontein the week before last.