Stormers director of rugby John Dobson during a training session. Picture: Ziyaad Douglas/Gallo Images
A confident Stormers team are ready to defy expectations and pick up their first win against Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun Stadium when the two sides clash in their United Rugby Championship (URC) quarterfinal on Saturday night (kick-off 8:35pm).
The Stormers have lost both their previous pool games at the ground and head into their first ever away knockout encounter as slight underdogs, as they attempt to make it to a third consecutive URC semifinal.
Director of rugby John Dobson knows the odds are stacked against them but believes that his side have a great chance of coming away from the game with a win to continue their journey.
“We just saw the URC win predictor which has given Glasgow a 78% chance of winning and us 22%,” Dobson said.
“We certainly don’t feel like they have four times more chance of winning than we have. I suppose we are underdogs because teams are expected to win their home playoffs.
“But we are comfortable and in a really good space at the moment. We aren’t paying any attention to stuff like that. It is important for our growth as a team to be playing an away quarterfinal, and we will be better off no matter what happens tomorrow.
“Make no mistake, we will be bitterly disappointed if we finish our journey now. But despite all the disruptions in the team over the season and missing the number of players that we are, there is a really confident and excited feeling in the camp.”
The Stormers have made a few rotational changes to their starting line-up from the one that faced the Lions in their final pool match last weekend, including switching their front rows, while loose forward Evan Roos misses out with concussion and is replaced by Willie Englebrecht.
Warrick Gelant, who was rested for their previous game, returns to the team at fullback, Ben Loader replaces the suspended Angelo Davids on the wing, and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu moves into the midfield to partner Dan du Plessis.
“Losing Evan is a disappointment. It was a freak knock at training. He has been immense for us recently, but from adversity comes opportunity and I am really pleased for a guy like Wille (Engelbrecht),” Dobson said.
“He has had a tough season because we haven’t done as much rotating as we would have liked, so this is a great opportunity for him.”
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