Benetton will host the DHL Stormers in the second South African United Rugby Championship match at the Stadio Comunale Di Monigo in Treviso on Saturday @ 14h00.
Benetton stunned the rugby world in June by pulling off a huge upset to win the Rainbow Cup, seeing off the Vodacom Bulls in the final. This win completed a massive turnaround for the side after they lost every PRO14 game in the regular season. After beating the Vodacom Bulls in Treviso, Benetton has been unbeaten at home since losing to Cardiff in March and have lost just one of their eight previous matches against South African opposition.
New coach Marco Bortolami will be looking to build on Benetton’s stunning Rainbow Cup triumph having taken over from Kieran Crowley. Following up that shock triumph may be a big ask for new coach Bortolami, who has added Paul Gustard and Andrea Masi to his backroom team after taking over from Kieran Crowley.
The loss of Jayden Hayward and Paolo Garbisi over the summer will have dealt a blow to their hopes but they have recruited well. Their new season acquisitions will be well known to South Africans - former Toyota Cheetahs fullback Rhyno Smith and former Emirates Lions utility back Andries Coetzee have both joined the Italian team while they still possess stars such as Monty Ioane and Toa Halafihi.
South Africans in their team include Irne Herbst, who played lock for the Bulle and former Stormers halfback Dewaldt Duvenage. Carl Wegner, Corniel Els and former SA under-20 and now Italian international Braam Steyn will add a uniquely local flavour to their clashes.
The DHL Stormers won three and lost three of their Rainbow Cup matches as they finished second behind the Bulls and now meet Benetton for the first time. Their last encounter in the northern hemisphere ended in a 26-23 defeat to the Sunwolves in Hong Kong in Super Rugby back in 2018.
The DHL Stormers are still missing several players that is currently on Springbok duty, however, several players that missed the 2021 Currie Cup competition is fit again and should raise the level of play significantly during their European tour.
Salmaan Moerat and Ernst van Rhyn have been appointed co-captain of the DHL Stormers for their upcoming European Vodacom United Rugby Championship tour. With regular DHL Stormers captain, Steven Kitshoff away on Springbok duty, Moerat and van Rhyn will share the captaincy responsibilities on a tour. Both players have significant leadership experience as former SA Schools and Junior Springbok captains.
Van Rhyn captained DHL Western Province in the recent Carling Currie Cup and led the DHL Stormers against the British and Irish Lions, while Moerat has recently recovered from a neck injury, having been named as Kitshoff’s vice-captain earlier in the year.
Moerat and Van Rhyn were named in a 33-man DHL Stormers squad, which will leave for Italy on Saturday.
DHL Stormers Head Coach John Dobson said that Moerat and Van Rhyn are both natural leaders who will be able to get the best out of the group on tour.
“Salmaan and Ernst are both very comfortable in the captaincy role, having both done the job for just about every team they have played in, so it made sense to let them share the workload on this tour.
“We know that this will be a challenging tour, but it is something we as a group are embracing as we embark on a new journey in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship.
“We have brought some quality players into the mix and they are all keen to make their mark in the DHL Stormers jersey,” he said.