Coach John Dobson has his fingers crossed that Frans Malherbe will be among a host of injured DHL Stormers stars fit to play a Champions Cup rematch with Clermont in Cape Town on 21 January.
Malherbe suffered a pectoral tear in last week’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship victory against the Vodacom Bulls in the Mother City and has been ruled out for the home clash against the Lions on Saturday.
The Springbok anchor is also set to miss next week’s trip to face the Glasgow Warriors in the URC, and the away leg against London Irish in the Champions Cup on 15 January.
He joins fellow forwards Salmaan Moerat, Adre Smith, Ernst van Rhyn, Gary Porter and Evan Roos, along with backs Ruhan Nel, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Seabelo Senatla, on the sidelines.
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Speaking at a Stormers team announcement on Friday in the buildup to the visit from the Lions, Dobson told media: “The one change is unfortunate, and it’s an injury, otherwise it would’ve been nought.
“Frans got a small tear in his pec, he’s been scanned a couple of times … right time of year to be going to specialists.
“It looks like a couple of weeks, hopefully not too much more [than that]. If all goes well, hopefully he plays Clermont, let’s see.”
The Stormers are on a two-game winning run in all competitions, yet front and centre of Dobson’s mind is having as many of the URC champions’ front-line players available and firing on all cylinders for the Champions Cup.
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He added: “Evan’s got a chance, Gary Porter not. I think we’ll take a view that we’ll stick with the same group on tour.
“We’ll probably give the guys who are 50-50 an extra break and make sure they are here for Clermont, because home games in the Champions Cup are probably even more important than home games in the URC, if we want to try and get into the round of last 16.
“So to have them back for that will be useful.”
ALSO: Jake rubbishes Dobbo claim
Meanwhile, Dobson has downplayed Jake White’s vociferous claims on Friday in response to the former’s comments on the citing of Stormers flanker Willie Engelbrecht from the Bulls.
The Bulls director of rugby told reporters that he has sent the Stormers boss “a few messages” on Engelbrecht being cleared by an independent panel for dangerous play.
Asked if he had received White’s messages, Dobson replied: “Unless I’m missing something, no. I’ve just walked off the field, I’ll have a look now.
“They’ve got absolutely every right to cite … but in a sense it’s asked and answered – they put a citing in and it was answered pretty emphatically by the URC,” he added.
“It’s not something we really think about much but maybe it’s something to think about going forward.”
Photo: Shaun Roy/BackpagePix
