The Stormers are targeting their first ever three match winning URC tour, when they take on Benetton in Treviso on Saturday.
Despite a best-ever start to the United Rugby Championship (URC) season, the Stormers aren’t satisfied and are readying themselves for a tough final tour encounter against Benetton in Treviso this coming weekend.
The Stormers are absolutely flying after four straight wins to start their campaign, which is better than the three wins and a draw that they got off to at the start of the 2022-23 season, and currently top the URC log on points difference from Munster.
Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson insists we have yet to see their best, despite not being seriously threatened, with their closest result being a 16-point win over Ospreys, while they beat Zebre by 18 in Parma over the weekend, and thrashed Scarlets by 34 points and Leinster by 35.
Treviso test
They now face a tricky challenge against a Benetton team featuring a slew of Italian internationals, in Treviso at a ground they have never won at before.
Benetton have had an up and down season so far, losing to Connacht and being thrashed by Edinburgh away over the past weekend, but have won their home matches, against Glasgow Warriors and the Lions.
Between themselves and the Stormers, it has always been the home team that has emerged victorious, with the Cape side winning 38-22 in Stellenbosch in season two, and thumping them 56-5 in Cape Town last season, while Benetton triumphed 22-18 and 20-17 in Treviso in seasons one and three.
Dobson is thus aware of the challenge that awaits them, but is also hopeful that his team can conclude their best-ever URC tour with a third straight win, and fifth of the campaign heading into the November international break.
Huge battle
“We weren’t at our clinical best (against Zebre) and we’ve got a huge battle ahead against Benetton. We haven’t won here nor have we played well here before, so we’ve got to lift ourselves for a real big battle in Treviso,” admitted Dobson.
Speaking about where they can improve, Dobson explained that their tendency to overplay has reared its head again, which is something they will look to keep in check against the Italians.
“We had a very strong template towards the back end of last season and start of this season. We maybe varied a bit too much this week. I hate using the term ‘overplayed’ but in some areas we probably pushed it a little bit when we actually wanted to be really direct,” said Dobson.
“What’s pleasing is our lineouts and mauls are going well. Our scrum won a few penalties but I felt those came a little bit later than in the previous games.
“We didn’t have it quite as easy at scrum time, but if you’re without Tuks (Ntuthuko Mchunu), Neethling (Fouche), Sazi (Sandi) and Frans (Malherbe) it’s tough. But I thought Zach Porthen was exceptional.
“So the set piece was nice and where we are on the log is nice. I thought our defence was really good and we never let them (Zebre) get on top of us.”
