No Damian, no problem as Stormers gear up for Glasgow URC rematch

Despite suffering a heavy blow last week when it was confirmed that Stormers utility star Damian Willemse would miss most of the URC playoffs due to the red card he picked up in their final pool game against Cardiff, assistant coach Rito Hlungwani isn’t worried.

Willemse received the sanction after a high hit in their win over the Welsh side, which led to him being cited and initially banned for six weeks, reduced to three because of his good disciplinary record.

That could further be reduced by another week if he attends World Rugby’s infamous ‘tackle school’, which would make him available for the URC final should the Stormers make it that far.

But first they have the massive task of upsetting the United Rugby Championship (URC) defending champions, Glasgow Warriors, on their home patch, the Scotstoun Stadium, in their knockout clash on Friday night.

It is a repeat of last year’s quarter-final, where the Stormers pushed Glasgow all the way, trailing by just three points going into the last seven minutes of the match, with the hosts scoring two late converted tries to secure a 27-10 win in the end.

They now have to do the job without Willemse, although the blow has been softened by Springbok flyhalf Manie Libbok’s return from injury against Cardiff, that has bolstered the Stormers backline options.

Quite fortunate

“We are quite fortunate that a guy like Manie’s timing has been good in coming back from injury, and it’s great to have him back,” explained Hlungwani.

“Obviously it’s unfortunate to lose a player of Damian’s quality, but like I always say, when there’s an injury or a suspension it’s a nice opportunity for the next person to put their hand up and take their chance.

“We’re quite fortunate to have guys that can cover 15 and 12 (where Willemse would likely have played). We have Warrick (Gelant) at 15. Sacha (Feinberg-Mngomezulu) is very comfortable at 12. He’s played 12 for us quite a number of times.

“We will probably look to have Sacha as an extra playmaker (in the backline) and then Dan Dup (Dan du Plessis) also covers 12 as well. As much as we’re not happy that we’ve lost him (Willemse), we feel we’ve got enough cover.”

Feinberg-Mngomezulu has recently been in top form at flyhalf for the Stormers, but played off the bench against Cardiff due to Libbok’s return.

He would probably have started at flyhalf against Glasgow if Willemse was available, but it seems like he will line up at inside centre instead, with Libbok at 10 and Gelant at fullback.

Leolin Zas and Suleiman Hartzenberg could be on the wings, and Wandisile Simelane at outside centre, which would make for an incredibly formidable attacking backline, even without Willemse.