The Stormers will be without breakdown king Deon Fourie when they take on the Glasgow Warriors but coach John Dobson is confident Junior Pokomela will fill the void with aplomb. DYLAN JACK reports.
The Stormers will be without Fourie for Friday night’s game at Cape Town Stadium as the veteran has been ruled out with a minor leg injury.
In Fourie’s place, Pokomela gets a big opportunity to shine in the starting lineup, while Western Province captain Nama Xaba – who is more like Fourie as a natural opensider – has been called on to the bench.
While admitting that Pokomela is a very different player to Fourie, Dobson explained that it would be too risky to field the 35-year-old on Friday.
“I think Deon is going at about four turnovers a game, maybe even slightly more. That’s just world class,” Dobson said. “Junior can play at No 6, 7 or 8 and while he might not get four turnovers a game, he brings us amazing carrying skills, he is defensively very sound and his contact stuff is very strong. In the last game against the Bulls, he created the situation where we won that last turnover.
“Junior is very exciting, he is a leader and it’s good for him to get the opportunity. Obviously, we want to play our best team every week, but we have to be responsible. It’s actually a good opportunity for both Junior and Nama Xaba.
“The nature of Deon’s injury is that he could damage it further. So it would be crazy to risk him. Junior will bring us more of an all-round game, but Evan Roos is also not far behind Deon in terms of steals.”
Meanwhile, Warrick Gelant could be an ace up the sleeve after being named on the bench, having recovered from the finger injury which ruled him out of the match against the Vodacom Bulls.
The Springbok fullback has not played since the 26 March win over Ulster and Dobson is consequently easing him back into action, with games against Leinster and Scarlets still to come.
At full fitness and in full flight, Gelant proved to be an explosive asset off the bench in the win over the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld and the draw with the Sharks at Kings Park.
Faced with the choice between starting Gelant at fullback and shifting Damian Willemse to inside centre, or retaining Willemse at fullback and Rikus Pretorius at 12, Dobson opted for the latter.
“Warrick has been out for a while now … Rikus is going so well and also it’s how we think Glasgow are going to play, the pressure they are going to put us under,” the Stormers coach explained. “We don’t see it as completely dissimilar to how the Bulls played.
“We know what Warrick did in those away games at Loftus and Kings Park in terms of making an impact. Also, Warrick wants some more confidence before starting a game after his injury. It isn’t a serious injury, but it is painful.
“It just makes sense in terms of continuity and next week we can revise it. It’s a backline that has been going nicely and with Warrick coming off the bench it could be exciting.”
If other results go their way, a win would move the Stormers into the top four and put a 13-point gap between themselves and ninth-placed Scarlets, which would virtually assure the Cape side of a place in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship playoffs.
“I think if we win, then it’s 90% [assured],” Dobson said. “We would have to get zero from the last two games and Scarlets would have to get five from both. Even then, it might come down to points difference. To my mind, if we win this weekend, we should be safe in terms of qualification.
“We are actually going up against the three conference leaders in the last three games. On Friday, we have the Scottish Shield leaders, next week it is the Irish and then it’s the Welsh conference leaders. So, it’s tough games. If things go wrong tomorrow, we could be third in the South African conference. The most important thing is that we beat as many teams in the top eight as possible.
“Our destiny is in our hands. I do think winning tomorrow will get us over the line.”
Photo: EJ Langner/Gallo Images
