It is an all-win situation for John Dobson’s Stormers in Dublin on Friday night. Even if they lose the match, it doesn’t mean they have lost the war when it comes to defending their United Rugby Championship title.
The Stormers have not yet played at the home of Ireland’s premier province Leinster. They hosted Leinster last season, but they played a team that was primarily the B side, given that Leinster made 14 changes to the starting XV for the Champions Cup play-off round a week after losing to the Stormers in Cape Town. In Cape Town only one score separated the Stormers and the kids from Leinster, who were manning the fort while the seasoned internationals stayed in Dublin and prepared for European glory.
This time it is the Stormers who travel and instead of giving the hosts the five league points, Dobson has opted to send what is his strongest available match-day squad to Dublin. He wants to make a statement with a match-day 23 and beat a Leinster outfit that has won all 15 URC league matches this season.
Dobson, when confirming his match-day 23 last Sunday, had no idea how many of the current Irish internationals would be among the 23 his team fronts on Friday night. It did not matter because the respect for Leinster is such that whoever makes up this 23 will take some beating. Dobson gave his current Boks the softer option of playing for Western Province in the Currie Cup in Durban, but all seven national players wanted to play against Leinster. It said everything about the character of these players and the belief within the Stormers camp that they are good enough to topple Europe’s most consistent club side.
Leinster, despite losing the Champions Cup final to La Rochelle in the final minutes and losing to the Bulls in Dublin in the URC semifinal, in what was a stunning upset, remain the benchmark of excellence in the URC and the Champions Cup. The bulk of Ireland’s Grand Slam and Six Nations-winning squad are from Leinster and Friday’s team will include several of them.
The Irish province are to the northern hemisphere what the Crusaders are to southern hemisphere regional rugby. They are the best and the Stormers can only be better off for playing against the best.
Leinster, whenever they play at home, are expected to win and by all accounts if the Stormers are to defend the URC title, then they will have to go back to Dublin for a final. Leinster, unbeaten after 15 matches, will finish top of the league and it will be a shoot-out between the Stormers and Ulster for second place. The top four host the quarterfinals, but for the Stormers to host a second successive semifinal they will have to finish the league in second place. Right now, they are five league points ahead of Ulster, who play the Bulls in Belfast this weekend.
The Bulls a season ago did the Stormers the greatest favour in knocking over Leinster in the semifinals, and if they beat Ulster, it will strengthen the Stormers claim to second place.
Leinster are likely to field a mix-and-match of returning internationals and trust many of those who have thrived in the absence of the international players. Whatever the home team line-up, it will give the Stormers an indication of what is required to win in Dublin. If they win and it is not against the full-strength Leinster, they will have the memory of winning in Dublin. If they lose, they will have a month to fix those areas in which they were not good enough, should they make it through to a final in Dublin against the strongest available Leinster.
The Irish province are to the northern hemisphere what the Crusaders are to southern hemisphere regional rugby. They are the best and the Stormers can only be better off for playing against the best. The easy option would have been for Dobson to tank the match through his selections and keep his best players back in South Africa and primed for next weekend’s historic Champions Cup last 16 against London-based Harlequins. It would have been easier, but Dobson would be none the wiser and Dobson’s Stormers have never invested in the easy route or shied away from the reality of the league. It is why they win on Friday night, regardless of the result.
Mark Keohane is the founder of keo.co.za, a multiple award-winning sports writer and the digital content director at Habari Media. Twitter: @mark_keohane
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