“Playoffs In Mind” – Why Dobson Is Taking A Huge Midfield Gamble Against Cardiff
Ahead of a crucial clash against Cardiff Rugby, John Dobson has explained the reasoning behind several key selection decisions for the Stormers, including the absence of centre Ruhan Nel and the appointment of Neethling Fouché as captain.
Dobson confirmed that Nel was close to returning from injury, but the coaching staff decided against risking him ahead of the upcoming play-offs.
“Ruhan was unfortunate. We had hoped to have him ready for this game,” Dobson said. “The problem with his injury is that he is about 90% fit, but if he’s not fully recovered and it flares up again, he could be out for a long time. Of course, we also have the play-offs in mind.”
With limited options on the wing, Dobson explained that the team had to reshuffle their backline. Suleiman Hartzenberg has been given another opportunity on the wing, while Wandisile Simelane moves to outside centre alongside promising youngster Jonathan Roche.
“As far as squad depth is concerned, we’re really only operating with one specialist wing in Leolin Zas, while we’ve also used Wandi there and Damian Willemse there,” Dobson explained.
“We’ll give Suleiman another chance to see if he can provide a solution for us on the wing. Wandi will play at 13 alongside Johnny Roche, who I think is a special talent, but he needs game time.”
The midfield combination has been a major talking point ahead of the match. Dobson revealed there was consideration given to keeping Simelane on the wing and selecting Dan du Plessis for added experience, but the coaching staff ultimately wanted to give Roche an opportunity before the knockout stages.
“The debate was whether to leave Wandi on the wing, where he performed well, and play Dan to give us more experience,” Dobson explained. “But we really wanted to give Johnny a game before the play-offs. We made a commitment to him to play this match, and we’re happy with that decision. Having Damian at fullback will also be useful, especially considering Cardiff’s contestable kicking game.”
Despite the changes, Dobson remains confident in the side selected for the crucial encounter.
“We feel it is a team that is strong enough to do the job.”
The decision to hand the captaincy to Fouché was also addressed, with Dobson praising the experienced prop’s leadership qualities.
“He has captained us before and did a good job,” Dobson said. “We’ve rotated the captaincy a bit this season, but Neethling is a safe pair of hands and has the respect of the entire team.”
Looking ahead to the challenge posed by Cardiff, Dobson highlighted the Welsh side’s defensive resilience and effective kicking game, particularly at Cardiff Arms Park.
“They have a reasonably good attack and a really solid defence,” he said. “They also have a very good kicking game and have only lost one match at Arms Park this season.
“They are tough around their defensive structures and their contestable kicking game — those contestables cost us the game here two years ago.”
Dobson also pointed to the lineout battle as a potential area where the Stormers could gain an advantage, especially with improved depth at lock following the return of Salmaan Moerat.
“The lock situation is a relief,” he admitted. “We were disappointed with our set piece last week, and we didn’t manage to steal a single lineout from Ulster, whereas contesting lineouts is usually one of our strengths. We should be much better in those areas this week. It’s an opportunity for us to apply pressure.”
The Stormers’ final match of the regular season against Cardiff kicks off at 8:45 p.m. on Friday.
