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A form guide to the Lions' next opposition: The Stormers

By PA
(Photo by Steve Haag/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

The British and Irish Lions will be aiming to bounce back from their first defeat of the tour when they round off their warm-up schedule against the Stormers on Saturday.

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The Cape Town outfit – who recently played in the PRO14 Rainbow Cup and will be part of the United Rugby Championship when it launches next season – will be the third provincial side the tourists have faced, following a win against the Sigma Lions and two victories over the Sharks.

A clash with South Africa ‘A’ on Wednesday – an encounter viewed by many as a de facto fourth Test – saw the Lions beaten 17-13, and they will hope to recover quickly before the Test series gets under way for real on July 24.

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Here, the PA news agency takes a closer look at the Stormers.

BACKGROUND
The Stormers – along with the Sharks, Bulls and Lions – were formerly part of Super Rugby, finishing as runners-up in 2010 and winning the South African Conference in 2011, 2012 and 2015. All South African teams were withdrawn from the competition in 2020 with a view to joining an expanded PRO14, and the formation of the URC – consisting of the four South African sides alongside the existing 12 PRO14 teams – was announced last month, following the Stormers’ participation in the Rainbow Cup. There had been talk that their clash with the tourists could be brought forward to swap places with South Africa ‘A’ as the Springboks tackled a coronavirus outbreak and, although Wednesday’s meeting went ahead as planned, speculation continued that the Stormers could be replaced by a second clash with the host nation’s ‘A’ team this weekend.

FORM
The Stormers finished second in the PRO14 Rainbow Cup SA, although they benefited to the tune of four points from the cancellation of their final fixture against the Lions of Johannesburg, which edged them clear of the third-placed Sharks. John Dobson’s side developed a habit of finding themselves in closely contested affairs during the competition, with four points the biggest margin of victory in any of their five matches. The Stormers were beaten at home by both the table-topping Bulls and the Sharks but were able to gain revenge over the latter in Durban. A Western Province Currie Cup side featuring 12 of the men who will start against the Lions on Saturday suffered a 30-28 defeat to Griquas last week.

COACH
Dobson was handed the Stormers reins at the end of the 2019 season having been part of the Western Province set-up – the team around which the Stormers are centred – since 2010, guiding the Vodacom Cup side to glory in 2012. He was linked with a move to Harlequins to replace Paul Gustard earlier this year but that job eventually went to former All Blacks centre Tabai Matson.

KEY PLAYERS
The Stormers will be without the eight players they have contributed to the Springboks squad for the Lions series – a contingent that includes the likes of Pieter-Steph Du Toit, Steven Kitshoff and Bongi Mbonambi, who is set to join the Sharks later this year. Of those remaining, Edwill Van Der Merwe was the leading try-scorer across both hemispheres in the Rainbow Cup, while Tim Swiel pulled off a couple of match-winning kicks and Evan Roos was a menace at the breakdown. All three will feature from the start against the Lions.

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A
Adrian 32 minutes ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

6 Go to comments
T
Trevor 3 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
B
Bull Shark 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

29 Go to comments
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