Stormers coach John Dobson says injuries and looming departures have left his once-vaunted lock depth exposed.
The Stormers’ second-row stocks have been hit hard, with La Rochelle-bound captain Salmaan Moerat sidelined since late January with a toe injury and JD Schickerling ruled out for sixth months after suffering a knee injury against Connacht last weekend.
“At the start of the season I used to boast about our lock roster. I thought it was one of the best,” Dobson said on Friday. “Now it’s obviously a lot thinner.”
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Montpellier-bound Ruben van Heerden, who recently returned from injury, starts alongside the ever-present Adré Smith against the Glasgow Warriors at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday, with Marcel Theunissen and utility forward Keke Morabe providing cover off the bench.
Dobson had warned that Schickerling (30) and Smith (28) were being pushed to their limits during the prolonged absences of Moerat and Van Heerden.
“Losing JD, who is a big guy for us, is massive,” he said. “A lot of our success in the early parts [of the season] was based on the lock roster where you could start with Salmaan and Ruben, and then bring on JD and Adré after 45 minutes.”
Locks Connor Evans and Gary Porter are back under consideration and Dobson admitted there were long discussions, especially around Evans, in the build-up to the Glasgow game.
“We could have gone with Connor, but our plan is to give Connor one U23 game so he’s fully fit, because with JD out for the season, he’s going to be very important come that Ulster game [next week].
“So rather than give him 15 or 20 minutes off the bench this week, we want to give him one full game for the U23s.
“We have to really develop Connor quickly now,” he added. “Thank goodness Ruben came back this week and Salmaan will be back at least for the quarter-final, possibly for Cardiff [on 15 May].”
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Dobson is confident in Theunissen’s ability to call lineouts, allowing them to select Morabe – “who can bring that stopping power in the last 15-20 minutes” – on the bench.
However, the decimated lock stocks has impacted the team’s ability to deploy a 6-2 bench split.
“It really worked so well for us at the start of the season when we had five locks and Connor,” Dobson explained.
“When you go to 6-2, you put two loose forwards on the bench, which is the traditional model for 6-2, isn’t it? Then you’ve got high-engine guys like Evan Roos, BJ Dixon and Paul de Villiers – they’re not guys who you are easily taking off.
“So one of those loose forwards is largely sitting there. Meanwhile, the two [starting] locks do get tired. Munster was a great example, Bayonne another, where we brought Adré and JD on.
“I don’t think many clubs in the world have that kind of ability to bring that quality off the bench to make a difference.
“I don’t think it’s coincidental that our sort of dip [in form] around the Sharks was when Moon [Moerat] and Ruben were gone.”
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Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
The post Dobbo: Losing JD is massive appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Stormers coach John Dobson says the team’s once enviable depth at lock has quickly become an Achilles heel due to a spate of untimely injuries and looming departures.
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