Cape Town — The Stormers may have won the inaugural United Rugby Championship, but now they’re dealing with the big boys in the Champions Cup — and coach John Dobson wants them to reach platinum status in their tournament debut against Clermont tomorrow.
The Cape side are riding the crest of a successful wave, having clinched their first major title in their history last season after years of disappointment in Super Rugby.
They have started the defence of their URC title in strong fashion, winning six and drawing one out of eight games, with many of those achieved without some stalwart Springboks such as Steven Kitshoff and Frans Malherbe.
Dobson has rolled the dice in terms of selection in some weeks in order to fill the gaps, as well as build depth for the next few months as he will have to juggle the playing resources across the Champions Cup, URC and resting his top Boks.
But it’s all hands on deck for tomorrow’s showdown at the Stade Marcel Michelin in Clermont-Ferrand (5.15pm SA time kickoff) — with only Malherbe rested, although star No 8 Evan Roos is also out with a rib injury.
Dobson warned his team in his weekly ‘Dobbo’s Diary’ column on the Stormers website that they needed to ignore Clermont’s current 10 th position on the French Top 14 log, where they have won five and lost six games — with one draw.
“Don’t be fooled by their current league standing in the Top 14. They have beaten the teams ranked third, fourth and fifth at home and lost by a point to Toulouse away from home. They are a good side, and we know it will take something special to knock them over,” the Stormers mentor wrote.
“The challenge is massive, especially because of the change in hemispheres and the temperatures. We would have gone from playing in 30 degrees a week ago in South Africa to a high of two on Saturday.
“I have such a high regard for the strength of French domestic rugby, and the form of the French national team in the past 18 months is testament to the strength of the French Top 14.
“The league also includes so many wonderfully talented overseas players who have made France their home or who still play for their respective national teams, but have committed their club future to France.”
Dobson will be relying on the experience of Bok stars such as Steven Kitshoff and Damian Willemse, as well as veteran flank Deon Fourie – who played for Lyon and Grenoble for a number of years – to guide the rest of the team in their first outing in France, with Clermont especially difficult to beat at home.
“They are a team that have consistently proved to be so good in the league, and then somehow stumbled in the playoffs of the Top 14, and they in the past have suffered similar disappointment in the (Champions) Cup,” Dobson said.
“But if they have a reputation of being the bridesmaid when it comes to winning the biggest titles, it is the opposite when they play at home at the Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin.
“The South African players I know who play or who have played in France and those in our current squad with French club rugby experience, like Deon Fourie, Steve Kitshoff and Joe Dweba, talk of the challenge of visiting Clermont as being like few they have ever experienced outside of Test rugby.
“Clermont, under the Kiwi coach Vern Cotter, went 77 matches unbeaten at home. Clermont, up until December 2020, had won 31 of their 32 group home matches in European club competitions.
“Last season they won one from three, losing to Leicester and being edged by Ulster. Historically, they are 32 wins from 35 home starts in the European club competition group stages.
“I started by saying I am an eternal optimist, but I am also a realist when it comes to respecting an occasion, the strength of the opposition and the impact of playing in foreign conditions in front of a hostile home crowd.
“We can only control our discipline, our mindset and our approach, and that is where the optimism is so strong in our squad.
“We believe nothing is impossible, and if winning at home in the Champions Cup is considered gold, then winning away from home in France is closer to platinum.”
IOL Sport
