Victorious Stormers to be boosted by returning cavalry

The DHL Stormers have been ravaged by injury in the pre-season, with several regulars missing from the team that opened their Vodacom United Rugby Championship campaign against Leinster in Cape Town at the weekend.

That made their thumping 35-0 win over champions Leinster, who admittedly were even more under-strength, all the more meritorious, and has left coach John Dobson in what for him is a rare feeling for this stage of the season of being in a good space.

That space will have been improved further since the bonus point win by the return of a clutch of injured players, three of whom should be available for selection for Friday night’s game against the Ospreys.

Scotland international prop Oli Kebble, tighthead Sazi Sandi and Springbok World Cup winner Deon Fourie have all recovered sufficiently enough to be ready to play, while forwards coach Rito Hlungwani has confirmed that there will be further reinforcements when the team heads off on a three match overseas tour next week.

One of those will be former Hollywoodbets Sharks Springbok loosehead prop Ntuthuko Mchunu, who is highly rated and has impressed the Stormers coaches since his arrival but may have to go some to displace another former KZN schoolboy Vernon Matongo from the No 1 jersey.

Indeed, the same could be said of Fourie, who is a leader in the team but is now no longer the only dynamic ball scavenging option available to Dobson. Young Paul de Villiers has inhabited the space left in Fourie’s absence more than adequately and is quickly confirming why he was considered a future star when he was playing age-group rugby.

The product of Oakdale has come through so well that it is understood that Dobson will be using Fourie as both a loose-forward and a hooker this season, thus reprising the role he played for the Boks at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France. Being able to flit between both positions will mean that the Stormers can have both players on the field at the same time when there is need for it.

But the immediate priority is for the Stormers to be ready for the challenge posed by Ospreys, who have developed quite a strong rivalry with the Cape side after beating them at DHL Stadium two seasons ago and then following up with a win in the opening game of last season.

The Ospreys were quite competitive against the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus before eventually succumbing in the second half so Dobson will be pleased to have no additional injury concerns plus a trio of quality players back in the mix, even if Kebble, Sandi and Fourie may only play off the bench in Friday’s game.

And according to Hlungwani the one injury concern after Friday’s game against Leinster, Marcel Theunissen, should also be fit to play.

“Marcel has a laceration to the face but he should be fine as far as I know,” said Hlungwani.

“Everyone is fit. Some guys are returning to full fitness. Oli Kebble, Sazi Sandi and Deon Fourie are all returning to training.”