The Stormers will attempt to rebound after suffering their first loss in 15 United Rugby Championship meetings last weekend against Cardiff, while the Lions will be seeking their first home victory in four contests.
Last weekend’s home match against Glasgow Warriors was postponed, and the hosts’ most recent encounter was a 37-39 loss to Ulster on October 15. Consequently, they will likewise be anxious for the W.
February was the last time the two sides met. The defending champions had just begun to acquire momentum at that time. However, both the Capetonians and the Lions are now drastically different squads.
Prior to last weekend, the Stormers were on an excellent winning streak, but the Lions have appeared much sharper than the squad that did not finish in the top eight of the inaugural URC season.
The Lions have already achieved three consecutive victories on their foreign trip and nearly defeated Ulster and the Bulls at home.
Even though the Stormers are unquestionably the best team in South Africa, the Lions have excellent reason to be optimistic about their chances of claiming a victory at home tomorrow.
Here are three flaws of the Stormers that the Lions can exploit:
The Stormers line up in formation
The Cape side’s line-out was far from a well-oiled machine at the close of the previous season, and this problem has carried over into the second edition of the URC.
Since then, the Stormers have suffered at set pieces, and the true issue may have been the turnstyle that the number two position became due to injury.
As a result of errant throws, the Cape unit’s momentum was stifled and the opposition was able to leave the field too quickly. While their line-outs performed better in their most recent match, they were unable to locate their jumpers with their throw-ins.
The Stormers huddle
This is not something that can be said frequently when discussing the Stormers, but their scrum has not been an effective weapon this season.
It should come as no surprise that the scrum has been one of John Dobson’s team’s sharpest weapons, given the caliber of the pack and the Springbok influence.
This season, though, they have not received the prize consistently. And this weekend will be especially difficult.
It will be intriguing to observe how the Cape side performs without the Springboks in the scrum.
Stormers collapse
Okay, let’s be fair – while the Stormers would have liked things to go better at the breakdown in their last match, their inability to gain momentum was mostly down to the hosts getting away with murder on the ground.
Regardless, this is not an area that will be rife with momentum this weekend, so the Lions should target it.