Cape Town – It’s set to be a thrilling United Rugby Championship clash between the Stormers and Leinster at the RDS Arena on Friday night (9.35pm SA time kickoff), but who will be the major point of difference for the number one and two teams on the log?
Here are five player match-ups to look out for in Dublin…
Clayton Blommetjies v Jordan Larmour
The Stormers No 15 is in the form of his life at the moment. He is striking the ball sweetly with the boot and producing excellent touch-finders, while his decision-making from the back has been superb. Blommetjies knows when to take on the defence on the counter-attack with ball-in-hand and when to kick an up-and-under or look for territory.
But he may have his hands full defensively, as Larmour has been described as the ‘Cheslin Kolbe of Irish rugby’. He is lightning quick and has said he thrives on taking on the opposition in one-on-one situations, so the Stormers must try to close down his space.
Damian Willemse v Ciaran Frawley
They are two similar players who can operate across the backline. Willemse was a flyhalf who moved to fullback and then inside centre for the Stormers, but has featured at No 10 again for the Springboks in recent Test matches – although he is seen mainly as a No 15 by the national coaches.
Crawley is a flyhalf, but has run out at fullback and No 12 too.
Both are capable of making decisive plays, with Willemse’s pace and footwork perhaps giving him the edge. But Frawley is a big unit at 1.91m and 91kg, which makes him 4cm taller than the Capetonian, while they weigh the same, and the Leinster man will run hard at the visitors.
Hacjivah Dayimani v Max Deegan
The Stormers star has been missing for a while due to injury, but made his comeback for WP against the Bulls last week off the bench, and will hope to go full throttle tonight.
Dayimani has all the X-factor any loose forward would want. His pace and smart footwork across the pitch sets him apart, and the Cape side have missed his spark in attack.
Deegan is a powerful No 8, with his 1.93m frame able to help him get over the advantage and make a series of relentless carries, while he is also a strong defender.
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4 Marvin Orie v Jason Jenkins
The Stormers No 5 has developed into a fine lineout tactician, and his work-rate and reliability has improved to such an extent since moving back to Cape Town that he is now entrenched in the Springbok squad.
Orie will be calling the shots in the set-pieces and giving direction to the Stormers pack.
But he is up against a formidable opponent in fellow Bok Jenkins, whose physicality and lineout prowess will be handy against a solid Stormers pack.
His move to Ireland to play for Munster and now Leinster, though, will have helped him develop his skills, and he will be keen to make a statement to the Bok coaches against Orie.
5 Steven Kitshoff v Michael Ala’alatoa
The Bok loosehead prop is coming in virtually ‘cold’ from a two-month break, but there’s nothing like a scrum to get the blood flowing.
And Kitshoff will be up against one of the toughest characters around in Ala’alatoa, the former Crusaders stalwart who has quickly become a rock in the Leinster set-up over the last two years and is also fresh after the Six Nations break.
The Samoan captain is significantly bigger than Kitshoff at 1.89m and 132kg, compared to the South African at 1.83m and 120kg.
But Kitshoff knows how to handle any heat in the set-pieces, and his work-rate as a ball-carrier and defender could give him the edge over Ala’alatoa.
Teams For Dublin
Leinster: 15 Jordan Larmour 14 Rob Russell 13 Liam Turner 12 Ciaran Frawley 11 Dave Kearney 10 Harry Byrne 9 Luke McGrath 8 Max Deegan 7 Scott Penny 6 Rhys Ruddock (captain) 5 Jason Jenkins 4 Ross Molony 3 Michael Ala’alatoa 2 John McKee 1 Michael Milne.
Bench: 16 Lee Barron 17 Ed Byrne 18 Vakhtang Abdaladze 19 Brian Deeny 20 Will Connors 21 Nick McCarthy 22 Charlie Tector 23 Ben Brownlee.
Stormers: 15 Clayton Blommetjies 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg 13 Dan du Plessis 12 Damian Willemse 11 Seabelo Senatla 10 Manie Libbok 9 Paul de Wet 8 Hacjivah Dayimani 7 Ben-Jason Dixon 6 Deon Fourie 5 Marvin Orie 4 Ruben van Heerden 3 Frans Malherbe 2 Joseph Dweba 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain).
Bench: 16 JJ Kotze 17 Brok Harris 18 Neethling Fouché 19 Ernst van Rhyn 20 Willie Engelbrecht 21 Marcel Theunissen 22 Herschel Jantjies 23 Jean-Luc du Plessis.
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