Stormers eye big boost for Lions clash
SPOTLIGHT: The Stormers will be hoping they can bolster their forward pack so that they can make Frans Malherbe’s 150th appearance a memorable one against the Lions on Saturday.
The Capetonians suffered their sixth defeat in 10 outings in the URC when they went down 32-33 to the Bulls in a thrilling North-South derby in Cape Town last weekend.
John Dobson’s side outscored their opponents by five tries to four in the 80 minutes, but some wayward goal-kicking proved to be costly in the end.
Another area that was a big concern for the Stormers was the scrums.
With the Bulls unleashing Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar and Wilco Louw in the front row, the Stormers were pummelled in that area, and they can’t afford to let the Lions get the same dominance.
However, there could be some light at the end of the tunnel after Stormers assistant coach Dawie Snyman provided an update on players returning from injury.
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“The two guys that have trained with us so far are [props] Ali [Vermaak] and Neethling [Fouche],” said Snyman.
“They are back, so we will probably know their situation by the end of the day [Tuesday] if they are available to play.”
In terms of the backline, Snyman also revealed that Manie Libbok is still on the injured list with a host of other big names.
Meanwhile, Malherbe was asked if he ever thought he would reach 150 games for a team he has stayed loyal to throughout his career.
“It’s obviously awesome memories with this team, teammates and former teammates,” said the double World Cup winner.
“It’s [Ellis Park] an iconic stadium, and it will be a very tough game, so I am trying to focus on the game and not on the milestone.
“I am pretty sure it will be an awesome game.”
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