Stormers set for changes, but Dobson won’t weaken side for Bristol Champions Cup clash

The Stormers won’t be making wholesale changes to their team for this weekend’s opening European Champions Cup clash against Bristol Bears in Cape Town, having burnt their fingers in the past by tinkering too much with their line-up.

While some personnel switches are expected, especially in the front row, director of rugby John Dobson is wary of breaking the cohesion the team has built following their big United Rugby Championship (URC) victory over the Sharks this past Saturday.

Their first priority will be to get out of their pool, which includes the Bears, French giants Bordeaux-Bègles and Racing 92, and English club Gloucester. The Stormers will travel to Bordeaux and Gloucester for their two away games, making Saturday’s match at DHL Stadium a very important opening fixture.

It is a very tricky pool stage for the Cape side as they balance a strong start in the URC with the challenge of making it through to the Round of 16 of the elite European club competition. So, the composition of the teams playing over next couple of months will be very important.

“In the Champions Cup, we have to get out of our pool and secure a home last-16 game,” Dobson said.

“You saw last year, we won three out of four games and ended up going away to Toulon. Other teams won one out of four and had a similar draw to us. So, we have to beat Bristol. I’ll choose the best team to do that. I don’t even want the Bordeaux game to be a weakened team.

“So, the home game against Bristol is an absolute must-win if we want to get out of the pool.”

Dobson will be wary about rotating too many players this weekend after the team built up some good momentum with their 39-22 win in the coastal derby.

He hinted that tighthead props Sazi Sandi and Zachary Porthen will take over from Wilco Louw and Neethling Fouché. Louw and Fouché obliterated the Sharks’ scrum alongside loosehead props Ntuthuko Mchunu and Vernon Matongo.

With the Bears playing a faster game, Porthen and Sandi could be ideal replacements, but that could mean the Stormers lose some scrummaging power. A couple of changes could also come in the loose trio and at lock. Siya Kolisi has played two matches in a row and could benefit from a break, while the vacant No 7 jersey could go to Ben-Jason Dixon if he has recovered sufficiently from concussion symptoms.

“We don’t want to go through a Harlequins experience where we go (overseas in the Champions Cup) and concede 60 points again.

“So, for example, Sazi and Zach are both likely to play next week (this Saturday). That’s the plan and the critical path we’re working towards. Sazi is a great tighthead. He’s fast in the hit and his general game is fantastic. So, you can’t tell me that Sazi and Zachary Porthen playing this weekend would weaken the team.

“I don’t want to disclose too much, but they’re getting pretty close to where we want them to be. Some players would be more of a home-guard option, if there’s an injury, for example. I don’t want to name them because that would be disrespectful. But the main group are all playing over these four weeks, and we know when they’re playing.”