Stormers lock Ruben van Heerden jumps for the ball in a line-out during the European Rugby Champions Cup match against Racing 92. AFP
The Stormers can place all their energy and attention on the United Rugby Championship (URC) after being knocked out of the Champions Cup by Racing 92.
After resting some stars for the make-or-break tie, which the Parisians won 31-22, they will welcome them back for this weekend’s URC clash against Leinster.
Flyhalf Manie Libbok, fullback Warrick Gelant, loose forwards Deon Fourie, and Ben-Jason Dixon should add some Springbok experience to the Cape side’s starting lineup.
There will be some concern about the availability of hooker Joseph Dweba and loose forward Evan Roos who picked up knocks against Racing. Winger Suleiman Hartzenberg also suffered a suspected fractured hand.
“It is nice to know that guys like Leolin Zas, Seabelo Senatla Senatla, Warrick Gelant, Manie Libbok, Deon Fourie, and BJ Dixon will all be fit for next week.”
“It is nice to know that guys like Zas (Leolin) and Seabelo Senatla Senatla, Warrick Gelant, Manie Libbok, Deon Fourie, and BJ Dixon will all be fit for next week,” John Dobson, Stormers Director of Rugby, said.
“Hopefully the scans on the other players (the cheekbone of Roos) give us some good news. Our European campaign might be over. But this match against Racing was a high-impact and high level of rugby. It was extremely fast.
“So, this experience gives us hope for the future.”
“So, this experience gives us hope for the future.”
Now, they can shift their attention to Dublin where Leinster will likely field a B-team with their Irish stars set to prepare for the Six Nations.
The Stormers, though, are not too worried about which Leinster they will face at the Aviva Stadium. All they are focused on is to keep their URC hopes alive.
Herschel Jantjies has entered the chat 😤![CDATA[]]>🤝
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The Stormers have 15 minutes to turn this game around 👇
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They are on an unbeaten run of two games in the competition, which they won in Cape Town, so the challenge now is to start winning overseas.
The Cape outfit does not have the best record away from home, but generally, in the second part of the URC season, they bag a couple of victories on foreign grounds to push them up the points log.
A win on Irish territory will bring some needed confidence before they tackle the Bulls and Lions in home derbies.
Their next four matches in the tournament could determine if the Stormers will be in contention for a home playoff or fight to get into the playoffs of the URC.