Dobson looking for a storming start against Clermont

Keen to leave an early footprint upon their entry in the Champions Cup, the Stormers are targeting another fast start for their away clash with Clermont Auvergne on Saturday.

They quickly vacated the blocks in their past two matches in the United Rugby Championship (URC) against the Scarlets and the Dragons, but acknowledged they will have to deliver a more enduring performance in Clermont-Ferrand.

Fluidity and rhythm were the order of the day in their first-half attack against the Dragons in Gqeberha last weekend, but it made way for a stuttering second half.

That the Stormers are willing to up the ante in the first half on Saturday is as interesting as it is commendable in a competition where matches are characterised by cagey, almost sparring, risk-averse opening halves.

They appear keen, however, to impose their style on proceedings against opponents who don’t go down quietly at home. The Stormers should draw some comfort from Bayonne’s recent success at Clermont, while Bordeaux-Begles walked away with a share of the spoils after their last visit to Clermont-Ferrand.

“We have had a good look at Clermont and we feel there is an opportunity to play the kind of rugby we have played in the first half the past two weeks, so we are going to try to be a bit more like ourselves, like we should be,” Stormers coach John Dobson said about his team’s ball-in-hand intentions.

However, the coach is aware his team will need to sustain their efforts across the 80 minutes against grizzled opposition in Europe’s elite competition. Expanding play time across his group is a priority for Dobson, but it also contributed to his team losing shape once he made substitutions in the Stormers’ most recent clashes.

He will again have to delve into his resources this week in the absence of Springbok tight head Frans Malherbe, lock Marvin Orie and No 8 Evan Roos. Loose forwards Willie Engelbrecht and Nama Xaba are also unavailable.

But Dobson will have recent Bok tourists to Europe, loosehead prop Steven Kitshoff, lock Salmaan Moerat and utility forward Deon Fourie available.

“I think we got enough out of these games to be confident,” he said about his team's two most recent matches. “That was a really poor second half and it leaves a bitter taste, but it doesn’t take away from some of the rugby we played before then and the log points we got,” he said.

Clermont’s class may not be their finest vintage, but they remain a team that is hard to put down on home soil. They are likely to provide the Stormers a Champions Cup baptism they will not forget.

“We are pleased to be going away to such a famous place. It is a statement game for us to show that we can sit at the top table of world club rugby,” said Dobson.