Advertisement
Rugby's Greatest Rivalry gets its first fixture at DHL Stadium on Friday, and the opener pits a DHL Stormers side fielding a strong home selection against a New Zealand outfit still finding rhythm after their Nations Championship campaign. It is a curious mix of club versus country, but the stakes are simple enough: whoever wins takes early control of the series.
D. Fourie (14'), S. Senatla (55'), Penalty Try (77')
Tries
S. Taukei'aho (5'), S. Parker (38'), R. Ioane (66'), L. Carter (71'), J. Moorby (75'), A. Aumua (80')
Y. Ahmed (15', 56')
Conversions
B. Barrett (5', 39', 67'), J. Jacomb (72')
The story that will dominate the build-up is at flyhalf. Yaqeen Ahmed gets his first taste of the All Blacks wearing the Stormers No 10 jersey, and directly opposite him stands Beauden Barrett. That is a steep first assignment for any young playmaker, and how Ahmed handles the tempo and territory battle will go a long way to deciding whether the hosts can stay in the contest.
The Stormers arrive off the back of a deep United Rugby Championship run that ended in a 20-11 semi-final defeat to Leinster at the Aviva. Before that they had put 44 on Cardiff in the quarter-final and 48 on Glasgow at home, so there is plenty of recent big-game rugby in these players' legs. The forward pack still leans on familiar names, with Evan Roos at No 8 and Deon Fourie and Hacjivah Dayimani flanking him.
New Zealand, meanwhile, closed their Nations Championship with a 40-21 win over Ireland at Eden Park, having also beaten Italy comfortably and edged France 34-32 in a tight opener. The autumn before that was more mixed, with a heavy 33-19 loss to England a reminder that this group can be got at when their accuracy dips.
The set-piece is the obvious place to start. The Stormers scrum has been a reliable weapon, and against a New Zealand front row of George Bower, Samisoni Taukei'aho and Pasilio Tosi that platform will matter, particularly for a home side wanting to slow the visitors' quick ball.
The other question is how the Stormers cope with New Zealand's width. With Rieko Ioane and Leroy Carter out wide and Josh Moorby at fullback, the visitors have runners who punish loose kicking and broken defensive lines. That places extra responsibility on the home back three and on Ahmed's kicking game to keep New Zealand pinned back.
Beauden Barrett – his control of tempo and territory will shape how much ball New Zealand's outside backs see.
Evan Roos – the Stormers need his carries to get them over the gainline and give Ahmed a front foot to play off.
Warrick Gelant – at fullback, his reading of the aerial contest and his counter-attacking could be the difference in transition.
For the Stormers, this is a chance to test themselves against Test-class opposition on home turf, and a strong start would settle the nerves around their young half-back pairing. Control at the set-piece and a composed exit game are the priorities.
For New Zealand, the tour has been framed as an important one for Dave Rennie, and a clean, accurate performance to open the series would set the tone. On this evidence they carry the greater firepower, but a full-strength Stormers side in Cape Town is not the ideal place to be caught cold.
Kick-off is at DHL Stadium, with Karl Dickson in the middle.
