Head coach John Dobson is backing Hacjivah Dayimani and Jean-Luc du Plessis to provide the DHL Stormers with a real impact against the Vodacom Bulls on Saturday.
Dayimani starts at No 8 for the injured Evan Roos in a formidable loose trio with blindside flanker Ben-Jason Dixon and captain Deon Fourie, while Du Plessis will make his 50th appearance for the Stormers at inside centre.
It will be the first north-south clash between the two traditional rivals since last season’s quarter-finals of the Vodacom URC, which the Stormers won 33-21 in the Mother City, as the SA Shield rivals do battle in round 8 of the competition.
Despite a raft of injuries in the Stormers camp in the buildup to the derby, Dobson was able to name a strong matchday 23, featuring three World Cup winners.
“Two seasons ago we would have been in a real state about [losing a player like Roos], but I think we’ve got real depth at loose forward – it’s probably our most competitive position,” he told the media on Friday.
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“The logic behind [Dayimani moving to 8] is that we want one of our loose forwards, the No 8, to be like Evan … a carrier and strike runner. Evan does it with a hybrid of power and guile. Hacjivah is more sort of a stepping guy, but he does get those carrying metres.
“And BJ [Dixon] … with his work-rate and physicality … he’s going to be a very special player. We’re just trying to manage four, five, six very good loose forwards into three positions.
“So the balance [for Saturday]… with a hard-working, big physical lineout option that is BJ … and the X-factor that’s Hacjivah and Brannas’ [Fourie] work-rate, leadership, mauling, ability on the ground, and carrying … it’s a great mix of loose forward.”
Dobson added: “We are thin at 12, without Dan [du Plessis] and Sacha [Feinberg-Mngomezulu]. We looked at Jean-Luc as a back-up No 10 for Manie [Libbok] but against Leicester we were really thrilled with Jurie Matthee [at flyhalf] and Jean-Luc at No 12.
“So we’ll probably give Jurie more opportunities at 10 and we think Jean-Luc’s future might be at 12. He’s quite a helter-skelter player, he’s got that left foot. He’s very physical – in some ways similar to Dan but with more attacking kicking options.”
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