The United Rugby Championship match between the DHL Stormers and the Lions is scheduled to take place today at 15:30 PM at DHL Stadium. DHL Stormers head coach, John Dobson, said despite injury concerns and the state of the pitch, he is confident that they could secure their ninth win in a row.
Dobson indicated the team is looking forward to being back at DHL Stadium for a crucial sequence of home games and is keen to "hit the ground running" to build momentum against the Lions.
In what they expect from the Lions, Dobsn said: “The Lions want a high-paced game and to capitalise on turnovers,” he said. “We can’t be seduced into that. We’ve got to be direct, build pressure and make sure we control how the game is played.”
Dobson noted that the Stormers are dealing with injuries to key backline players, including Springbok flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and centre Ruhan Nel. He stated there is “absolute confidence” in the team's game plan despite the disruptions and that the replacement players, such as Jurie Matthee at fly-half, are ready to step up.
“It all happened in the space of a few minutes at training. We had hoped Sacha might come through, but it’s not worth the risk. We’ve seen how these injuries can get nasty.”
“Ruhan’s got a Grade 2 calf. That’s six to eight weeks. He’s a big loss. He leads our defence and does a lot of work that puts the opposition under pressure.”
“Sacha’s played three games for us this season. Some of our best results came with a different back-three combination, so there’s absolute confidence in what our plan is for Saturday.”
Dobson expressed frustration over the condition of the DHL Stadium pitch in the days leading up to the match, suggesting it was more suited to cricket. He mentioned this was an “unnecessary distraction” but that the team would adapt to the conditions.
“There was a very visible drop when we got here on Wednesday. You could feel the sigh of disappointment from the players when they saw it.”
“Our game model is built around applying pressure. We want to scrum, we want to maul, and that often requires traction. If you take that away, you take away our ability to control the game in the way we want to.”
“I understand the bigger picture; the stadium needs to generate revenue to exist. The staff here is fantastic, and they go out of their way to make us feel welcome, but there’s got to be a better system.”
“It’s got a chance to affect performance, the experience in the stadium, and even how it looks on TV. This should be a showpiece game. You want the pitch to add to the spectacle, not take away from it.”