DHL Stormers coach John Dobson sees Saturday’s Vodacom URC quarterfinal against Cardiff as a defining point in the season as it will be an opportunity “for us to show everyone who we are”.
The Stormers started off so well in their 2025/2026 campaign and were flying in both the URC and the Investec Champions Cup as they reached early January, and their narrow win over the Vodacom Bulls in the home north/south derby, unbeaten. However, after losing heavily to the Harlequins with an under-strength team in their third Champions Cup pool match, the Stormers lost their way a bit as they lost four games in five.
They looked like they had recovered enough after their big away win over the Bulls to secure a top two spot, but were arguably the biggest losers in the last few weeks of the competition as they dropped games to Connacht at home and Cardiff away and drew with Ulster to slip to third. That last defeat two weeks ago was enough to be the difference between the Stormers playing for a definite home semi-final on Saturday as opposed to in all likelihood be heading to Leinster if they beat Cardiff.
“Absolutely, this is a game that we need to show our true colours,” said Dobson when he was asked at the team announcement press conference on the eve of the home quarterfinal at DHL Stadium if the Stormers see the game as an opportunity to make a statement.
“We started off the season really well but this game will determine if we are still the team that was so good in the early part of the season or whether we have a lot of work to do to set things right before the next season starts. This calendar year, since the Bulls game in early January, we have been inconsistent and it has understandably led to questions about our game and how we are tracking.
“I think everyone understands that the game we lost to Connacht was under special circumstances, a human issue (the death of team manager Chippie Solomons), but our loss to Cardiff was very disappointing, we will accept a draw in Belfast against Ulster as we know that is a very difficult place to go and play. The two games against the Sharks were occasions where we let ourselves down and we could have been a lot better at Ellis Park (against the Lions).
“So this is a very important game for us, one that will determine how we view the season. If we aren’t still alive next week it just won’t be good enough given how the first part of our season went,” he explained.
SKIPPER CLARIFIED THE “CARDIFF ARE BEST QUARTERFINAL” STATEMENT
Both Dobson and skipper Ruhan Nel are expecting tough opposition from Cardiff, and Nel clarified what was meant when both he and the coach were quoted in recent days saying that Cardiff were the best team the Stormers could draw in a quarterfinal.
“That wasn’t meant to mean we think Cardiff are week, it was rather about playing them again so soon. They were the last team we played, and it was just two weeks ago, so it means we’ve done a lot of preparation around Cardiff already, we’ve done so much analysis, and that is obviously very helpful to us as it means there has been less of a load this week,” said Nel.
Dobson had spoken Cardiff up before the game at Cardiff Arms Park and so he wasn’t completely surprised with how well they played in that game and unsurprisingly referenced a much better performance at the breakdown and a better showing as a combination as being necessary from his back row of Paul de Villiers, Ben-Jason Dixon and Evan Roos.
“I was very impressed with the way Cardiff fought against us and there were two things in particular that stood out,” said Dobson.
“Firstly, the defence was excellent. We thought it might be the case as we’d analysed some of their earlier performances so we weren’t caught off guard, but their defence really was phenomenal. Then there was their speed in recycling the ball from the breakdown (on attack). We conceded four tries that evening and a lot of that was down to their speed at the breakdown and their angles of attack.”
RELIEVED TO HAVE EVERYONE FIT
Dobson admitted he was relieved to be able to include Damian Willemse and Leolin Zas in the team after Friday’s captain’s practice as they’d both looked doubtful on Wednesday afternoon following a collision between them in training that morning. Dixon was also subject to a late fitness test on Friday, but fortunately all three came through.
“It is a massive relief compared to how we felt on Wednesday afternoon. Ironically the incident happened just after I had said ‘I can’t take this’ as we headed into the last 10 minutes of training, but fortunately both players are fit to play,” he said.
ACKERMANN BRINGS PHYSICALITY FROM THE BENCH
More than that, Dobson has been able to call up previously injured players in the form of Nel and Seabelo Senatla to the starting team and Vernon Matongo and Ruan Ackermann from the bench. Dobson has spoken already about the dynamic that Senatla brings with his pace, so this was an opportunity to extol the virtues of Matongo and Ackermann.
“Ruan is a really good player who for good reason was spoken of as an England prospect when he was at
Gloucester, who he played 180 games for, and I have no doubt if he’d stayed in South Africa when he finished his initial stint with the Lions, when he was still in his early 20s, he’d have ended up playing for the Boks. He is an international class player and although on the day we felt he did well in his last game against the Bulls before his injury, when we watched the video of the game he was even more impressive, in that he’d done things we hadn’t noticed.
“Keke Morabe has done well for us since returning from his own injury but Ruan is just quite simply a beast and is a master of the dark arts and an excellent stopper (when the opposition drive at us) and we know how valuable he could be for us coming on in the last 30 minutes of the game. When it comes to Vernon everyone knows how much depth we have at prop. Vernon has been out injured but he is also a beast in his position and I am quite sure when he has sorted out his paperwork (to become a South African citizen) he will be an important player for the Springboks too.
“If you consider we have him playing behind another excellent loosehead in Tuks Mchunu, and that we have players of the quality of Ali Vermaak and Oli Kebble out injured, plus the really promising Oli Reid away with the SA under-20 team, then you realise how much depth we have in that position. The same holds true at tighthead. Wilco (Louw) hasn’t joined us yet but we have Neethling Fouche and Zachary Porthen who are both Springbok tightheads, and we still have Frans (Malherbe) on our books too, plus Sazi Sandi.”
Dobson agreed that it meant that in the front row, like some other positions, he’s going to have quite a few selection decisions to make when some big name additions arrive in the off season, but for now his focus is squarely on beating Cardiff. And for that, the return of Nel, Senatla and Ackermann is huge.
“I actually feel bad that we never recognised Ruhan’s captaincy skills earlier in his career, he is big for us at so many levels,” said Dobson.