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John Dobson says the DHL Stormers are comfortable conceding a perfect goal-kicking performance for an attacking edge after naming Damian Willemse at flyhalf against Edinburgh on Saturday. DYLAN JACK reports.
Damian Willemse will run out at flyhalf, while Warrick Gelant gets his first start of the 2024-25 Vodacom URC as the DHL Stormers look to end their tour on a high in Edinburgh.
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Having started both tour games at fullback, Willemse shifts to No 10 in place of Jurie Matthee, who has slotted all of his attempted kicks at goal this season.
Matthee drops out of the matchday-23, as the Stormers opted for a six-two split, with Wandisile Simelane playing the utility back role.
“There is a concession around the goal-kicking,” Dobson said. “Damian hasn’t been asked to do it for us for a good few years. He wasn’t doing it with Manie around.
“Warrick is also kicking really well. That’s another option. We thought of having Jurie on the bench to bail us out, or Dewaldt [Duvenage], who also kicks well.
“We have a plan for this game and how we want to play. It was just impossible to leave out Damian, Warrick or one of the centres. It was an impossibility.
“If we are going to play this way, it made sense to have Wandi [Simelane] on the bench. He can cover 13, 15 and fits the way we want to play this week.
“Playing on a 4G, that takes a lot out of the pack, so that’s why we went with a six-two split.
“The goal-kicking is a factor. If it does end up in a rainy Edinburgh night, we may rue, but to leave one of Damian or Warrick out, especially with the way Warrick kicked last week, was unfathomable.”
Having bounced back from a season-opening loss against Ospreys in Bridgend with a bonus-point victory over Zebre in Parma, the Stormers are eager to cap off their tour with a win in Edinburgh.
However, Dobson is wary of a wounded Edinburgh side, who are hunting their first win of the season and coming off a 55-21 loss against the Lions at Ellis Park.
“This game is critical for us. It’s already been a better tour than last year but it would be a below-average tour with one win. It would be reasonably successful with two wins So this is a very important game.
“Last year we felt the consequences of not winning a game on tour for the whole season. We were catching up and fighting our way through. We came close to hosting a playoff in the end, but it was very stressful and pressurised.
“Our away record has got better since then. We came here in May and got wins against Dragons and Connacht. But tomorrow is essential.
“Edinburgh have had one bad half. They competed really well at home against a strong Leinster team (losing 33-31), they had the Bulls under the pump for a while [at Loftus Versfeld] and they won the second half at Ellis Park. So out of six halves, they have had five good ones.
“The blowout in the first half at Ellis Park is not what we’ve seen from the rest of Edinburgh’s games.”
Photo: Cole Cruickshank/Gallo Images
