Stormers aiming for better showing on European tour, starting with Glasgow

The Stormers will be aiming to banish some of their struggles on tour when they take on Glasgow Warriors in their United Rugby Championship (URC) match at the Scotstoun Stadium on Sunday afternoon (kick-off 5pm).

The URC defending champs had an underwhelming first tour to Italy and Wales earlier in the season, where they beat bottom feeders Zebre, but then drew to Ospreys and lost to Cardiff in games that they were considered favourites for.

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They will now be aiming for better results in a tough run of away games against Glasgow, London Irish and Ulster over January.

“We do need to get better.  We have been in the game in all those matches, but just haven’t been able to finish them off,” admitted Stormers coach John Dobson in a team announcement presser on Friday.

“Those are teams we should be beating, with respect, and the fact that we have lost to them away means there is something that we are not quite getting spot on.

“I don’t think we appreciated how big a difference it is playing on a 4G pitch. It was certainly the case in Cardiff and it will be the case this Sunday. What it can do to your game and ball control. It is interesting how big the debate is here on whether rugby should be played on a 4G pitch.

“But we need to be better in these games and in these conditions, because we can’t allow the conditions to cost us in games that we feel we should be winning. We have to close these games out. That’s why this game is so important.”

Building consistency

The Stormers have only made one change to their starting line-up, from the team that played the Lions last weekend, for the Glasgow match, which Dobson is thrilled with as they look to build a bit of consistency over a tricky period.

“Our plan was build our pool (depth) and keep guys relatively fresh for this period, so that our focus can now be on cohesion and continuity. We were making about seven to eight changes per match up until the Clermont game (in December),” explained Dobson.

“To make just one voluntary change this week, unlike last week which was a single injury forced change, is very pleasing for me. Next week (against London Irish) we might be a bit broader in selection to get some game time into some of the guys.”

The match will also have a bit of spice to it with a couple of ex-Stormers players in the Glasgow side, while a number of Stormers players have played under Glasgow coach Franco Smith, so both teams will have a bit of inside information.