How do you fit Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Manie Libbok and Damian Willemse into one Stormers backline?
That is arguably the biggest conundrum facing coach John Dobson in the upcoming United Rugby Championship – although he won’t have to deal with it immediately as Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Libbok are on Springbok duty.
But the new URC opening game against the Ospreys in Swansea on September 28 is set to be Willemse’s official return to action, while it is hoped that he could feature in some way in the Stormers’ friendly against the Pumas in Mbombela on Wednesday.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu has enjoyed a break-out year on the international stage, starting at flyhalf against the Wallabies and All Blacks, and has been rested for the Rugby Championship trip to Argentina for next Saturday’s Test in Santiago del Estero, with a view to rejoining the side for the September 28 clash against Los Pumas in Mbombela.
Libbok, though, will leave with the Boks to South America today, and will hope to get an opportunity to stake his claim for the No 10 jersey again.
Bok coach Rassie Erasmus weighed in on the Stormers situation before last weekend’s 18-12 win over the All Blacks in Cape Town: “What they do at the Stormers, I don’t want to say it’s relevant, but we will never say to a franchise coach where to play a guy.
“It’s his income, their livelihood, their supporters’ base and franchise that must make money and win. It will almost be more interesting when Damian Willemse is fit. It will be Damian, Sacha and Manie. That is three great playmakers that you have in your team.”
The man who will have to make that decision at some stage is still trying to come up with a solution himself.
“I hope one of them is injured! I don’t really mean that! It’s a tricky one, because we’ve also got Damian Willemse – all these 10-12-15s,” Dobson said during a URC media round table this week.
“So, it’s a great position to be in. We are just going to have to … Sacha has made it clear that he wants to be a 10 throughout his career; Damian is different and wants to play anywhere, and Manie is an out-and-out 10, although I know he has played 15 before.
“It will just be pure rotation … We are blessed to have it, and we didn’t expect it. But it’s going to be straight rotation. When the competition starts and Damian is available, he can start at 10 until the others come back from the national team.
“And then we’ve got a problem: one or more will have to sit on the bench at some stage, but I guess it’s a nice position to be in.”
It will be interesting to see whether Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Libbok catch up with the Stormers ahead of their second tour game against Zebre in Parma on October 5.
DHL Stormers Backline and Attack Coach Dawie Snyman has had the squad pushing themselves to the limit on our pre-season camp. #iamastormer #dhldelivers pic.twitter.com/fco5GsYlvK
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) September 13, 2024
But considering their torturous URC tour last season, where they lost all four encounters against Glasgow (20-9), Benetton (20-17), Munster (10-3) and Cardiff (31-24), the Cape side would want to have as many Springboks as possible in their line-up to make a strong start to the tournament.
That affected their final log position, where they ended fifth and lost an away quarter-final 27-10 to eventual champions Glasgow in Scotland.
“It felt like we had a dagger to our throats the whole season. It got much worse with the rotation. Ruben van Heerden was our best lock, so we kept on playing him because we were so desperate to win,” Dobson said.
“It meant that the other locks in our squad didn’t get much rugby, which meant that they became poorer – and when we did play them, we judged them, and the squad became a little bit stratified.
“In the year that we won (2021/22), we used 57 players. Last year, we used in the high 40s, and it was because of our conservatism. Suddenly, those crazy offloads that we were famed for, we were taking it a bit more seriously last year.
“So, we had a knife to our throat the whole season, and it wasn’t an enjoyable season because of the start. We need to get a win or two on tour. We hoped to start with a nice home game against the Bulls.
“We were under pressure the whole season, and I think we did well to get back to where we finished – but it was tough from the start.”
Pre-season camp is not for the faint-hearted. Forwards Coach Rito Hlungwani puts his pack through their paces. #iamastormer #dhldelivers pic.twitter.com/zRtHF5WaYL
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) September 11, 2024
The neck injury to stalwart prop Steven Kitshoff hasn’t helped matters, with the Springbok loosehead sidelined for at least six weeks.
With Ali Vermaak and Lizo Gqoboka also out injured – and Kwenzo Blose having joined Exeter in England – the Stormers will have to rely on old warhorse Brok Harris and the inexperienced Leon Lyons and Vernon Matongo in the No 1 jersey, with Dobson saying that there aren’t any worthwhile replacements available in the “market”.
The Stormers will also have to manage their resources smartly in order to be competitive in the Champions Cup, where they will open their account against Toulon and Harlequins in Cape Town on December 7 and 14 respectively.
Dobson admitted this week that the team are “definitely not ready” for the URC kick-off, which is why the Pumas friendly in Mbombela next Wednesday will be a vital hit-out for some players who haven’t had any or little game time in the Currie Cup, such as Warrick Gelant, Neethling Fouché and Dan du Plessis.
“We are still learning about that as South African teams, to be honest. We just haven’t had the depth. There was one year where we played Exeter in that (Champions Cup) quarter-final, after Munster, and they were already waiting for us in Cape Town,” the coach said.
“We’ve got to get better at that. Our challenge is that we’ve probably got an extra Springbok or two that we didn’t expect necessarily – like Sacha and BJ (Dixon) – so it’s a helluva management project when you have to factor in their resting and a lot of guys on national duty.
“It’s not like the old days of Super Rugby, so in terms of that juggling, we are not good enough at the moment. We played La Rochelle last season in a last-16 game that we lost in the last second, and then we lost to the Ospreys at home the next week.
“So, we weren’t good enough in arranging our squad, and that question is probably the key work-on for us this season – juggling resources, the national (team), the resting, two competitions. We are not there yet.”
Stormers Opening URC Fixtures
Saturday, September 28, 8.35pm: Ospreys, Swansea
Saturday, October 5, 8.35pm: Zebre, Parma
Saturday, October 12, 6.15pm: Edinburgh
Saturday, October 19, 6pm: Munster, Cape Town
Saturday, October 26, 1.45pm: Glasgow, Cape Town