DHL Stormers head coach John Dobson, speaking ahead of the team announcement to play Stade Rochelais on Saturday at 15:00 (SA Time), wore a characteristic grin when unpacking the midfield call, highlighting the Stormers' growing squad depth as a silver lining to a challenging injury list.
He confirmed that Young gun Jonathan Roche will wear the No.12 jersey after Dan du Plessis was ruled out for six to eight weeks with a knee injury. Dobson also said they are still waiting on the decision whether to operate on Dan Du Plessis’s knee (MCL).
Damian Willemse is currently recovering from a slight hamstring niggle and is expected to be available for selection next week. Wandisile Simelane, who started the previous week against Bayonne, is named on the bench as a utility back replacement. The team selection is a strong one, featuring several returning Springboks as the Stormers look to build on their away win last week.
"We need to build capacity in the midfield, going into the derbies against the Lions and Bulls. We wanted to give Jonny a spin, and we think he is going to be great."
“Dan Dup is out, Damian is out, and JL is out.”
“We could’ve gone with Ruhan at No.12 and Wandi at No.13, which worked well this season, but we think Jonny has something special.”
“It might be completely unscientific, but you can just see him in that game making a tackle break, and his defence is outstanding.”
“It’s going to be a physical game. He has no respect for his own body and he has X-factor.”
“Wandi has done a great job for us, but Dan could be out for a couple of months. We need to build capacity in the midfield, going into the derbies.”
“We wanted to give Jonny a spin, and we think he is going to be great”