Africa-Press – South-Africa. After numerous influential showings for the Stormers during the United Rugby Championship (URC) this season, Dan du Plessis’s injury came at an inopportune for the centre.
After spending two weeks out, Du Plessis will return to action when the Stormers take on the Bulls in a local derby at Loftus Versfeld on Friday.
Du Plessis is looking forward to returning to the field after a frustrating time on the sidelines and making a difference for his franchise.
“It’s never easy being on the sidelines, especially when you are working week in and week out to get into a starting lineup in the team and that all comes to a halt with injury,” Du Plessis told the Stormers website.
The clash against their traditional rivals, the Bulls, comes at a critical time in their season as both the URC and Champions Cup are in full swing over the December and January period.
Of course, the two sides met in the inaugural URC final earlier this year, with the Stormers winning that battle to become champions.
There’s little to separate them on the current log too, with both teams on 34 points. The Bulls are in second, however, one place above the Stormers thanks to a superior win ratio.
Du Plessis acknowledged that a tough clash awaits on Friday.
“In games like these, there is very little margin for error. Discipline is going to be important. Other important aspects are going to be the scrums and the halfbacks. Whichever combination can dictate the game the best and put their team on the front foot will give them a good chance of success,” he added.
Although the Stormers have only ever lost one South African derby in United Rugby Championship, Du Plessis warns of the importance of focusing on what lies ahead.
“We have to take confidence from the fact that we only lost one game against South African rivals last season,” he said.
“Then again, we have to remember it is a new season, teams look a bit different, there are new players, and they would have done a lot of analysis on us as a team.
“We need to use that confidence but also not get ahead of ourselves. The local derbies are always closely contested games and really physical.”
Friday’s clash at Cape Town Stadium kicks off at 19:15.
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