Stormers v Sharks – The Battle of the Springboks

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: The United Rugby Championship takes another step up this weekend as South Africa’s four franchises go head-to-head in two blockbuster local derbies.

The Bulls will host the Lions, while down at DHL Stadium in Cape Town, the Stormers will take on the Sharks on Saturday – a battle featuring some of South Africa’s biggest Springbok stars.

The Stormers will be desperate to bounce back after suffering a 13-17 defeat to Edinburgh at Hive Stadium last Friday.

The Cape side were without the majority of their Springboks for the opening two rounds of the URC, with Siya Kolisi the notable exception against the Scottish outfit.

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However that changes this weekend.

Stormers assistant coach Norman Laker confirmed that almost all of the franchise’s Springboks will be available for selection, with Cheslin Kolbe the only absentee after suffering a broken jaw during the Greatest Rivalry series against the All Blacks.

“Deon Fourie will be back, Damian Willemse, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Cobus Reinach, Wilco Louw, Zachary Porthen, all the guys that have been on duty – if I miss someone, I’m sorry,” said Laker.

“But all the guys that are available, are available except for Cheslin Kolbe obviously being injured, but the rest of the boys will all be available for selection, which will be a nice game.”

Unlike the Stormers, who began their campaign on tour, the Sharks have enjoyed the advantage of playing their opening two matches at Kings Park – while also having their Springboks available.

And those Bok stars have already made their presence felt.

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André Esterhuizen, Ox Nche, Edwill van der Merwe, Eben Etzebeth, Ethan Hooker and Thomas du Toit all featured in the Sharks’ impressive 26-20 victory over Leinster last weekend.

Du Toit dominated at scrum time, while Etzebeth played a key role in creating Esterhuizen’s try in tandem with Van der Merwe to put the Sharks ahead with 10 minutes remaining.

Van der Merwe then intercepted a pass and raced clear to score the bonus-point try and put the Sharks firmly in control.

The Sharks therefore head to Cape Town with confidence – and momentum.

For the Stormers, however, the return of their Springboks presents a different challenge.

While their individual quality is unquestionable, the question is whether they can quickly reintegrate into the Stormers’ systems with just one week to prepare for the Sharks.

Laker, however, is confident cohesion will not be an issue.

“I think most of the guys, except Siya and Wilco, have been with us for quite a long time.

“Guys like Zachary, Deon, Paul de Villiers, Sacha, Damian, all of them know the system.

“For us to select them, I don’t think it [cohesiveness] will be an issue.

“Obviously, we’ve worked on some things in the pre-season which we identified last season that we can be better at. They’re clever, they’re good players, Springboks for a reason.

“So, within the short week that we have coming up to Saturday, I’m 100% sure they will get the one or two tweaks that we’ve made to our systems, defence and attack, going into the game.”

Stormers utility forward Fourie believes the time away from the action could ultimately benefit the returning Springboks.

The Stormers’ Bok contingent had a break while the Sharks’ players immediately returned to URC action.

“We landed on Tuesday last week and they [Sharks’ Springbok players] went straight into training with the Sharks and playing again.

“It’s tit for tat. It depends how you look at it. Just to talk personally of me, I enjoyed a half-week last week, so probably they’re going to have more cohesion, but we’ll work this week on that.

“It all depends on how the team looks as well. Surely, the coaches don’t want to throw in too many guys, I don’t know. We’ll see, but hopefully we can pitch up.”

Meanwhile, Laker also revealed that there is strong possibility that Andre-Hugo Venter and Evan Roos might be available for selection.

Venter went off with a concussion in the 22nd minute of the clash against Edinburgh, while Roos picked up a hamstring injury ahead of the Round One clash against Connacht.