Africa-Press – South-Africa. Festive season rugby in South Africa continues on Saturday – New Year’s Eve – with two more local derbies in the United Rugby Championship (URC).
The Sharks host the Bulls at 16:45 before the defending champion Stormers take on the Lions at DHL Stadium at 19:00 to bring the curtain down on what has been a stellar 2022 for the Cape Town franchise.
Currently second on the overall log, top of the South African Shield and playing a hugely entertaining and impressive brand of rugby, victory for the Stormers on Saturday means they will have gone through the whole of 2022 without losing a home match in the URC.
Remarkably, the Stormers had not lost in 16 home matches in 2022, with their last defeat at DHL Stadium coming in December 2021 when they lost 37-19 to the Lions – their opposition this weekend.
It makes for an intriguing affair, and speaking after his side’s superb victory over the Bulls last weekend, Stormers coach John Dobson expanded on how his side had made DHL Stadium a stronghold this year.
“That was probably our lowest point last season,” Dobson said, recalling the loss to the Lions.
“We were part of a journey where we all had to transition to playing here after Newlands, and it wasn’t always easy. We lost to Griquas at home in the Currie Cup, we lost to the Bulls and Sharks here and we weren’t sure about the move.
“Now, we’re one over a year without losing here, but we need this Lions one to make it the whole of 2022. That’s really important to us, so it will add a bit to this game.
“It’s one more game on New Year’s Eve against the team that beat us quite convincingly here a year ago, so that will be a big driver for us as a coaching group.”
Assistant coach Dawie Snyman, meanwhile, was trying to stay grounded.
“We can’t really think about the outcome. We need to make sure that our plans are in place and deliver on Saturday. It would be a great thing to achieve, but we still have to make sure we play a good game of rugby,” he said on Tuesday.
The Stormers were given two days off on 25 and 26 December but were back training on Tuesday.
Snyman added that there were no new injury concerns following the Bulls game.
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