Stormers captain Ruhan Nel has zeroed in on the heavyweight midfield battle as a key subplot in Saturday’s Investec Champions Cup last-16 clash against Toulon at Stade Mayol.
Nel and inside centre Dan du Plessis will come up against a dangerous pairing in Ignacio Brex and Antoine Frisch – a combination the Stormers skipper knows all too well.
“We’ve faced them before in the URC. Brex played for Benetton and Frisch played against us in the URC final where it was he and Malikai Fekitoa in the centres, so they are familiar faces,” Nel told the media on Friday.
“I think Brex has been having an unbelievable season so far. We’ve seen how well Italy has done in the Six Nations, so obviously he’s been building on that form.
“It’s always nice to come across international centres of that quality, so me and Dupie [Dan du Plessis] are very excited to be facing the two of them. Hopefully it’ll be a great matchup for us.”
While the midfield clash promises fireworks, Stormers director of rugby John Dobson believes the game could be decided elsewhere, particularly in how his side aims to disrupt Toulon’s confidence and set-piece platform.
“If we can dent their confidence and help them understand the reason why they’ve lost six games, that’s an opportunity. We’ve sensed a few opportunities around the kicking game as well without going into too much detail.
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“They’ve got the third strongest scrum in the Top 14 and we are – if you look at the penalty differential – number one in the URC. If you can de-power their scrum, you go a long way towards denting their confidence and getting some of that doubt back in.”
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
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