Stormers keen to build depth on tour

The Stormers' tour of Italy and Wales can be a depth building exercise for the United Rugby Championship (URC) champions.

The Stormers left for Europe on Monday, and one of the team's stated objectives is to build capacity in a squad that will require all hands on deck across the vast span of the season.

Last year the Stormers got the job done with a squad with fewer numbers than some of the European giants, or some of their SA rivals.

“This is a very important tour for a few reasons and we want to make sure we keep building,” said head coach John Dobson.

“There are a few players in this group who are hungry to make their mark, so this will be a good opportunity for them to show what they can do going forward,” he said.

Dobson has likely eyed a broader strategy given the opposition the Stormers will face on tour. Zebre Parma, Ospreys and Cardiff don't rank among the apex teams in the URC and the coach has some room to mix and match in selection.

It also helped that he could depart with his 28-man touring squad on the back of wins over Connacht and Edinburgh in their opening two rounds.

The win over Edinburgh was the Stormers' 13th straight home win in the URC, but Dobson is keen to see how his charges cope when they are removed from their comfort zone.

“Our opening two wins have got us off to a good start, but we need to show we can do the job away from home as well,” noted the coach.

The tour will also present the Stormers with the opportunity to iron out some chinks in their system. Though they showed champion qualities in finding a way back to beat Edinburgh in Cape Town last weekend, they will have to reduce their high error rate and work on their discipline. Manie Libbok and Evan Roos were banished with yellow cards, while Sazi Sandi, rather harshly, saw red against the Scottish outfit.

“I think our discipline was similar to last week,” said Dobson about their performance against Edinburgh.

“We start giving away those defensive penalties when we're not physical and not fronting up because we're not there, so I think that was the problem.

“Our character again, it was very similar to last week. We were under the pump for a long time and it's tough defending maul after maul after maul, and pick-and-go after pick-and-go. I think its  good character to come out on top.

“I'm pleased with the result. I said to the team, imagine what we could do if we get some possession.”

Stormers' touring squad: Kwenzo Blose, Angelo Davids, Hacjivah Dayimani, Paul de Wet, Ben-Jason Dixon, Dan du Plessis, Willie Engelbrecht, Neethling Fouche, Brok Harris, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Herschel Jantjies, Alapati Leuia, Manie Libbok, Godlen Masimla, Salmaan Moerat, Sacha Mngomezulu, Marvin Orie, Junior Pokomela, Evan Roos, Adre Smith, Chad Solomon, Marcel Theunissen, Ernst van Rhyn, Andre-Hugo Venter, Ali Vermaak, Damian Willemse, Nama Xaba, Leolin Zas.