Stormers can't afford to slip against Bears, says Dobson

Victory over a dangerous Bristol Bears outfit will help the Stormers move closer towards achieving their objective of securing home ground advantage in the last 16 of the Investec Champions Cup, coach John Dobson says.

After a 39-22 win over the Sharks in a United Rugby Championship clash last week, Dobson has turned his attention to blunting the threat posed by the English side at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday (kickoff 4.15pm).

Dobson craves success in the Champions Cup and he knows there will be no room for slip ups in a group that includes the Bears, the Bordeaux-Bègles and Racing 92, and Gloucester.

The Cape side are set to travel to Bordeaux and Gloucester for two away games, which piles pressure on the Stormers to make a fast start to their campaign.

“In the Champions Cup, we have to get out of our pool and secure a home last-16 game,” Dobson said.

“You saw last year, we won three out of four games and ended up going away to Toulon.

"Other teams won one out of four and had a similar draw to us.

"So, we have to beat Bristol. I’ll choose the best team to do that.

"I don’t even want the Bordeaux game to be a weakened team.

“So, the home game against Bristol is an absolute must-win if we want to get out of the pool.

“We don’t want to go through a Harlequins experience where we go overseas in the Champions Cup and concede 60 points again.

“The Stormers saw last season how important collecting points in the pool phase is in the Champions Cup, which makes your home matches crucial.

“We have kept a fair amount of continuity in selection as we look to build on some of the momentum from last week’s win.

"While it is disappointing to lose Hacjivah Dayimani to concussion, we are able to call on Evan Roos, who is raring to go, along with the new front row."

Dobson said anticipation was building within the camp for another big day on the Cape Town rugby calendar.

“The team is still buzzing from the incredible atmosphere created by our fans last week," he said.

"We can’t wait to experience it all again as we take on a strong Bristol side that showed they understand what it takes to win in South Africa with a notable victory at Loftus Versfeld last season."

Apart from Roos’ return from a hamstring injury, the only other changes from the team that faced the Sharks sees an all-new front row come into the starting line-up.

Vernon Matongo, JJ Kotzé and Sazi Sandi will start in a revamped front row, with André-Hugo Venter, Ntuthuko Mchunu and Zachary Porthen set to make an impact from the bench.

The starting backline is unchanged, with Warrick Gelant among the replacements this week.

Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel (captain), 12 Jonathan Roche, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Adré Smith, 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 JJ Kotzé, 1 Vernon Matongo. Replacements: 16 André-Hugo Venter, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Riley Norton, 21 Deon Fourie, 22 Haashim Pead, 23 Warrick Gelant.

Saturday's Champions Cup fixtures:

2pm: Bulls v Stade Francais, 4.15pm: Stormers v Bristol, 6.30pm: La Rochelle v Lions.

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