VIDEO: Dobson reveals which Boks will return for their derby run
The Stormers, after securing their place in the Champions Cup play-offs, now turn their attention to the United Rugby Championship.
They beat Leicester Tigers 39-26 in a Champions Cup Round Four at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
It was an entertaining clash which saw the Stormers outscore the English Premiership side by five tries to four.
Following last week’s heavy 10-61 defeat to Harlequins, the Stormers produced a vastly improved performance on home soil.
For the next few weeks it is domestic derby time in the URC.
Next Saturday, January 24, the Stormers host the Sharks in Cape Town, followed by the return fixture in Durban week later.
The URC then takes a month-long Six Nations break before the Stormers head to Johannesburg to face the Lions at Ellis Park on February 28.
“We have two massive local derbies,” Dobson said of the back-to-back encounters with the Sharks for the table-topping Stormers.
The Sharks (14th on the table with 14 points) will be in a desperate mood for both encounters in the next fortnight, as two wins will be enough to put them back in the play-off race.
“We will see what the Sharks’ roster will look like next week,” Dobson said of the prospect of some more Springboks returning, players Vincent Tshituka, Siya Kolisi, Edwill van der Merwe and Grant Williams.
“It will be like the Bulls game again,” the Stormers boss said of the brutal nature of domestic derbies.
Having lost their unbeaten record at The Stoop (10-61 in a Champions Cup clash with Harlequins) the Stormers do not want to let their URC lead slip at the crucial juncture in the season.
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“We went out like Keith Richards, in style,” Dobson quipped of the 50-point loss in London.
“We want to keep that [unbeaten] record in the URC,” he told @JanDKrugby, adding: “[After the back-to-back Sharks games] we have three weeks [break] and a week’s preparation before the game against the Lions.
“We will put everything into the next two weeks.”
He said they now have a squad that can compete in Europe, while also being a serious contender in the URC.
“We are in a position where we can go deeper than we have ever gone in this competition,” he said of their prospects when the Champions Cup play-offs come around in April.
“We must get these two [Sharks matches] out of the way, and then Europe becomes a very serious [challenge] for us.”
To further boost their prospects of continuing their unbeaten URC run, the Stormers will also have the services of Springboks Damian Willemse, Warrick Gelant and Cobus Reinach, as well as centre Ruhan Nel, hard man Adré Smith, prop Sazi Sandi and flyhalf Jurie Matthee.
Salmaan Moerat will also return to take up the leadership.
@JanDKrugby
