CAPE TOWN - Stormers coach John Dobson has made it clear that their focus is on playing in the Currie Cup final, he admitted that winning their Super Rugby Unlocked games is just as important. And that includes winning against Griquas in Kimberley this afternoon (4.30pm).
Seeing as the Stormers have won two of their three games so far – against the Lions and the Pumas – it’s not so much their table position that is a concern, but rather the quality of their performances until now.
During the team announcement press conference on Thursday, Dobson said: “It’s one season for us, we’re working entirely towards the Currie Cup final on the 23rd of January. We’ve got a goal of being at the final on the 23rd, ideally at Newlands. We haven’t started well, but it’s a long journey with lots of games still to come here at Newlands, so we’re taking a longer-term view. We want to win every game, make no mistake, but we’re focusing on the long term.
“The Bulls have lost a game, the Cheetahs have had to share a game, the Sharks have dropped one and there’s a big one in Durban and somebody’s going to lose there … the way the Bulls are playing they’ve probably got the inside track, but it’s by no means over. Our goal is to be playing rugby on the 23rd of January.”
Their defence is going to have to be tighter, especially against an unpredictable team like Griquas. They’ll need to put together more phases and a cleaner display on attack and, overall, there needs to be more intent – unlike the disinterested attitude that was seen on the field at certain stages last week.
Griquas: 15 James Verity-Amm, 14 Ederies Arendse, 13 Eduan Keyter, 12 Johnathan Francke, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Zak Burger (captain), 8 Carl Els, 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Adré Smith, 4 Mzwanele Zito, 3 Ewald van der Westhuizen, 2 Hendrik Luus, 1 Mox Mxoli.
Replacements: 16 Monde Hadebe, 17 Andrew Beerwinkel, 18 Madot Mabokela, 19 Johan Momsen, 20 Ewan Coetzee, 21 Theo 22 Maree, 23 George Whitehead, 24 Harlon Klaasen, 25 Bandisa Ndlovu, 26 Cameron Lindsay.
Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Rikus Pretorius, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Ernst van Rhyn, 6 Marcel Theunissen, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 David Meihuizen, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain).
Replacements: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Sazi Sandi, 20 Salmaan Moerat, 21 Chris van Zyl, 22 Ben-Jason Dixon, 23 Godlen Masimla, 24 Tim Swiel, 25 Michal Hazner, 26 Ruhan Nel.