The Stormers have received a timely lift ahead of Saturday’s Vodacom URC clash against Connacht in Cape Town.
Coach John Dobson’s lock resources are beginning to improve after a challenging period on the injury front.
“Ruben [van Heerden] is available this week,” Dobson said. “Salmaan [Moerat] is a few weeks away, but we’re getting there in terms of depth.”
The 28-year-old Van Heerden has been sidelined since early February after undergoing surgery on a thumb injury.
His absence, along with that of captain Moerat, who is recovering from a toe injury, has placed added strain on the Stormers’ lock stocks.
Dobson admitted recently that regular starters JD Schickerling and Adré Smith were being pushed to their limits due to the increased workload.
MORE: Lock exits force Stormers rethink
Connacht arrive in Cape Town desperate to break into the playoff places. The Irish club lies one place and a single point behind the eighth-placed Vodacom Bulls.
“They’re a dangerous team,” Dobson warned, singling out their attacking structure under coach Stuart Lancaster.
“They’ve got a really impressive attack. Second and third phase, they’re well set up.”
“I think what happens in that in Galway, because it’s very windy, they play a lot of ball-in-hand rugby, so they’ve got a really good attack.
“I also think Stuart’s done a very good job in building depth which is something they haven’t always had.”
“So it’s a difficult one for us and it’s going to be a hell of a game.”
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Connacht lost to Montpellier in the EPCR Challenge Cup quarter-finals, but Dobson expects a full-strength team to run out at Cape Town Stadium.
“If you look at the team that played against Montpellier, it was quite rotated,” Dobson said. “I reckon they were at half-strength.”
Dobson said he believed Connacht rolled the dice with team selection as a possible route back into the Champions Cup by winning the Challenge Cup.
“Or do you go for the top eight in the URC, which you can control? And that’s where I think we’ll see their full metal jacket this week, on both games on their South African tour.”
Connacht travel to Johannesburg to take on the Lions next week, while the Stormers welcome the log-leading Glasgow Warriors.
“Connacht is a hell of an important game,” Dobson admitted. “We are up against a desperate kind of team who really put us under pressure before.”
The Stormers squeezed out a 34-29 win at home last season.
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
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