By Adnaan Mohamed
The DHL Stormers are taking a more measured approach to managing their Springboks this season, with coach John Dobson determined to avoid the disruption caused by wholesale player changes during the previous United Rugby Championship campaign.
The Stormers have named a squad containing a significant Springbok contingent, creating the familiar challenge of balancing provincial ambitions with international commitments during a World Cup year.
Stormers director of rugby John Dobson said the biggest availability concerns would come during periods surrounding international rugby, although he expects his leading players to be available when the URC reaches its decisive stages.
“I think we have our players always around the playoff times,” Dobson said.
“It’s this period that’s challenging around post-Rugby Championship, what is traditionally normally not this year, the Nations Cup, but normally by the end of the November 12th. That period is very tricky.”
The Stormers also expect complications during the current period, with their Springboks returning from the four-Test series against New Zealand and preparing for further international commitments.
Dobson acknowledged that the issue is not unique to Cape Town.
“As regards players being invested towards the sharp end, that applies across every team in every tournament, from English Premiership to Irish.”
The difference this season will be the Stormers’ attempt to manage those transitions more deliberately.
Rather than returning their internationals as a single group, the franchise intends to phase them back into the squad while maintaining an approximate 80% strength team. The objective is to preserve combinations and avoid the loss of structure experienced last season.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu will be one of the players carefully managed after accumulating substantial minutes during the Springboks’ recent series against the All Blacks. He will not start all four of the Stormers’ October fixtures.
The Stormers have also invested heavily in their performance structures through what they describe as Project 29.
Steph du Toit returns as the franchise’s fitness specialist, while a performance psychologist and Australian rules consultant Steve Boris have also been added. Leonora Osborne will serve as acting manager, while the academy continues under Jacques Hanekom, who brings experience from Leinster.
The Stormers believe the investment can help them close the gap on a URC field where Dobson estimates that 14 or 15 teams are capable of challenging for a top-eight place.
Leinster remains the benchmark.
The Stormers’ Currie Cup campaign, despite ending before the semi-finals, also provided valuable evidence of their depth, with Vernon Paulo, MK and Tom Barnard among those to emerge as players capable of contributing at URC level.
Several younger players, including Markus Muller, Josh Boulle and Jonathan Roche, are also being integrated into the midfield, while the highly rated “Robertson Express” (Lleyton Davids) is being developed without being rushed into URC rugby this season.
There is less positive news surrounding Ben Jason, who remains with the squad after missing the Australian tour because of delayed concussion symptoms.
“He’s battling with delayed concussion symptoms. So he hasn’t gone to Australia. So he’s here,” Dobson said.
Jason is training with the Stormers but has not yet been cleared to play.
“Hopefully, he gets cleared in time for Connacht, but he’s with us at training with us at the moment. But he’s not cleared yet.”
For the Stormers, the challenge is therefore bigger than assembling a talented squad.
They need to keep it together.
With Springbok commitments, international workloads, injuries and a fiercely competitive URC, Dobson’s latest plan places cohesion at the centre of the Stormers’ pursuit of a first URC title.