The Stormers' Warrick Gelant pictured celebrating during a Champions Cup match. The Stormers' Warrick Gelant scored a wonderful try against Leinster in their United Rugby Championship match. Picture: Geoffroy van der Hasselt / AFP
The Stormers will be looking at their Springboks to play a key role during their crucial away leg of the United Rugby Championship as the race for playoff spots hots up.
The Stormers are coming off a vital bonus-point win over Leinster at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday, with the Cape side bouncing back from a shocking defeat against the the Ospreys on home turf.
The Stormers face the Dragons and Connacht on their two-match tour, before before ending the league campaign with a clash against the Lions.
John Dobson’s men are currently fifth in the standings, six points behind the fourth-placed Bulls, who currently occupy the final home playoff spot. However, they are just two points ahead of the ninth-placed Edinburgh in the race for the top eight.
“It is a must-win tour, we will have a level of desperation and we’ll also be touring with our Springboks so it will be full metal jacket every week to try and win every game,” Dobson told theStormers.com.
The Stormers haven’t been great on the road in Europe, losing four matches on tour earlier this season. Any slip-ups against the Dragons and Connacht could be costly.
“We haven’t been great on tour and I think the team realises that. We are really excited about this challenge, we know this is a must-win tour and we have got our Springboks, so that really helps to have some calm heads on tour,” captain Salmaan Moerat said.
The Stormers were much better against Leinster, after mixing the sublime with the daft against the Ospreys.
Their game-management was much better, as they took advantage of their powerful set-piece and strong carries to blow the Irish giants away.
There were also moments of magic in the backs, with Warrick Gelant scoring a wonderful individual try.
“The team responded, the faults you could see last week with us being too lateral and loose were put right,” Dobson said.
“A massive credit to them for the way they fought and came back, it was a really compelling performance.
“We are not going to change how we play, I think we just learned last week to be a bit more circumspect and earn the right with strong carries, which is where guys like Salmaan, Joseph and Evan were exceptional. That opens up the space for the guys on the outside,” he added.
@JohnGoliath82