Director of rugby John Dobson hailed the young Stormers who made real strides in Project 2029 against the All Blacks, while giving a nod to veteran Deon Fourie’s display, reports DEVIN HERMANUS.
New Zealand on Friday beat the Stormers 38-21 in the historic Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry meeting between the teams at Cape Town Stadium.
The hosts were hit by a string of injuries throughout the match, with prop Sazi Sandi a late withdrawal, scrumhalf Imad Khan forced off early with a knee injury and Dewaldt Duvenage (broken arm) also departing late on. Captain Ruhan Nel didn’t return for the second half after picking up a calf issue.
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Despite the setbacks, Dobson was encouraged by what the likes of 20-year-old debutant Yaqeen Ahmed, loose forward Wandile Mlaba (21) and props Herman Lubbe (21) and Vernon Matongo (24) showed against the Kiwis, as part of the Stormers’ four-year vision to build an elite global rugby powerhouse.
“We’re making real progress. Obviously, Immy was terrible,” Dobson said. “It was going to be such a cool story game with Immy. With respect to Dewies, he’s not Carl Lewis. It would be such a nice game for Immy, that was an important part.
“But the project in terms of Immy, Yaqeen. Wandi Mlaba – that’s a guy who’s absolutely confirmed is going to be a fantastic Stormer. It feels really progressive.
“Vern Matongo, even Herman Lubbe coming on at the end. I feel like we’re growing.
“To be fair, and I’m not saying we’re doing a brilliant job, but two or three years ago, there were 10 guys who would’ve played across this weekend who are not available for injury – maybe eight in Argentina with the Springboks,” he added.
“Let’s be conservative, minus 15, and you go and produce this, I think the project is taking shape. And the age is coming down, despite Dewies and Brannas.”
Fourie, who scored a try in his first competitive game back from knee surgery, played over half the match – against the same opponents the 39-year-old Springbok faced in the last of his 13 Tests at the 2023 World Cup final – while carrying a shoulder injury.
“That is an incredible performance, isn’t it? For a guy again coming back from a serious injury … He made three tackles in 15 seconds, and two of them were try-saving. He’s remarkable,” Dobson said.
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Photo: Roger Sedres/Gallo Images
