DHL Stormers' Director of Rugby, John Dobson, said that he expects the upcoming match against Stade Rochelais on Saturday at 15:00 (SA Time) to have “test match intensity” against a “highly physical” and “freakishly good” team.
He said that Stade Rochelais, the two-time defending European champions, is “arguably the world's best club team” and a different “beast” compared to their previous encounter. Stade Rochelais has an amazing knockout history, winning 11 of their last 12 knockout games in the competition. Dobson expects them to take this match more seriously as it is a do-or-die scenario.
He said the Stormers need to “box clever” and make Stade Rochelais move around the field to tire them out, rather than getting into an arm wrestle with their powerful forward pack.
Despite some speculation, Dobson is preparing for Stade Rochelais to field a full-strength side, including key international players.
“We are prepared for their full metal jacket team as they were an incredible side when they played us two years ago, and in two games we went toe to toe over 80 minutes.”
“We are hearing conflicting stories. Some have it that they are coming here under-strength, while others say the opposite. So we have to be prepared for the scenario of facing their best team.”
Dobson anticipates a very physical battle, expecting a “relentless assault of their pack” led by players like Gregory Alldritt. He emphasises the need for his team to maintain their physicality on defence.
He has brought back several Springboks to his own Stormers team to match this intensity, viewing the game as an “ultimate test”.
“We decided to go precautionary on Damian Willemse, who will be ready next week, and Ruben van Heerden and Dan du Plessis weren’t available because of injuries. Suleiman Hartzenberg will be back next week, and Adre Smith is suspended for one game; otherwise, this is pretty close to a full-strength match day 23.”
“It has been that we have been working on for a while, the creation of depth. Particularly at the forwards, where I can easily, out of the top of my head, name a second pack that would do really well. We’ve been looking forward to this day where we can show off a team of this quality, so it is now incumbent upon us to go out and deliver on the field.”