Cape Town – While the Stormers have been unbeatable at home this season, their overseas record has concerned coach John Dobson.
That is why the delay in travelling to England for Saturday’s Champions Cup quarter-final against the Exeter Chiefs (6.30pm SA time kickoff) was just what the Capetonians didn’t need.
Instead of arriving in south-west England on Tuesday, the Stormers squad only left the Mother City, and will now arrive in Exeter on Wednesday.
A team spokesperson didn’t have much detail when asked by IOL Sport about the delay, except to say that there were “logistical issues at short notice”, which also led to a scheduled press conference being postponed to today, where the whole process will be explained.
But whatever the reason, it means that the URC champions will have missed out on a day of acclimatising and getting in much-needed training time ahead of what is arguably their biggest match since Dobson has been at the helm – as the Champions Cup is the ‘Champions League’ of rugby.
Captain Steven Kitshoff and his team were full value for last Saturday’s 32-28 victory over Harlequins in a last-16 encounter, where the final score wasn’t a true reflection of their dominance as the English club grabbed three late tries.
They played some thrilling rugby at the Cape Town Stadium, but it will be quite different at Sandy Park on Saturday, where Exeter are notoriously hard to beat.
Dobson has spoken previously about addressing their patchy form up north. The Stormers have battled in Europe this season. They beat Zebre 37-20 in Italy in October, but drew 16-16 in heavy rain against the Ospreys in Swansea a week later. That was followed by a 30-24 defeat to Cardiff eight days later.
They returned overseas for a Champions Cup clash against Clermont in France in December and went down 24-14, and in early January, they lost 24-17 to Glasgow at Scotstoun Stadium.
An under-strength side suffered a 35-5 URC loss to Ulster in Belfast in late January, and their last overseas game was the 22-22 draw with a weakened Leinster side in Dublin a few weeks ago.
So, a massive challenge awaits South Africa’s best team this weekend, and there was some good news on the injury front on Monday, with Springbok loose forward Evan Roos back in the selection mix.
Dobson faces a bit of a dilemma, as current No 8 Hacjivah Dayimani has been outstanding alongside openside flank Deon Fourie and No 7 Ben-Jason Dixon.
The dream combination of Roos, Dayimani and Fourie played a major role in their charge to the URC title last season.
But powerful ball-carrier Roos has been out of action since late January, when he sustained a knee injury against Ulster.
Will he be sharp enough to handle a high-tempo clash against the all-out attacking style from Exeter?
Perhaps Dobson would be better served keeping the same loose trio intact from the Harlequins game, with Roos a real weapon off the bench in the second half.
Dayimani revels in the extra space that he gets as a No 8, as he showcased with a wonderful offload in the tackle to Suleiman Hartzenberg in the very first minute against Harlequins, which led to Fourie’s try after 55 seconds.
@ashfakmohamed