Cape Town — While the Bulls may have provided the Stormers with the blueprint to beat Leinster, the Capetonians have an Irishman of their own who helped them prepare for Friday night’s massive United Rugby Championship (URC) showdown in Dublin.
Springbok assistant coach Felix Jones is a former Ireland Test fullback whose career was cut short by a serious neck injury in 2015 at the age of 28.
He moved into coaching at his beloved Munster the following year, and after working with Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber in Limerick, he was brought into the Bok set-up just before the 2019 Rugby World Cup, and has been part of the South African team management ever since.
Born and bred in Dublin, though, the 35-year-old Jones began his professional career with Leinster before shifting to Munster, and he is still based in the Irish capital and keeps an eye on the overseas-based Boks when not in camp.
With several national team players in the Stormers squad, Jones would be familiar with them, and he was able to provide the Cape side with some input into overcoming Leinster at the RDS Arena (9.35pm kick-off).
After naming a powerful match-23 on Thursday that included stars such as captain Steven Kitshoff, Frans Malherbe, Marvin Orie, Deon Fourie, Manie Libbok and Damian Willemse, coach John Dobson said that his team had studied the Bulls’ heroic 27-26 URC semi-final triumph in Dublin last season as well.
“There are some things the Bulls can do or are very good at that is probably not part of our plan, but we definitely had a good look at that game. Some of the reads they made, some of the contesting stuff … remember when Leinster had those attacking line-outs and the Bulls turned over two or three of those. And some of their maul defence,” the Stormers mentor said.
“We’ve had a look at a couple of other games where teams have run them close this year, and we also had a nice chat with Felix Jones, the Springbok assistant coach, who knows them very well.
“He played at Leinster and Munster, and he knows our players and was at the (Bok) alignment camp.
“So, I think we’ve prepped really, really well around looking at them. And he gave us some models when Irish provinces have done really well against Leinster.
“The truth is, nobody’s beaten them in any competition since the Bulls won 27-26 almost 10 months ago. So, we must be aware of the enormity of the task, and it’s not going to be an easy formula.
“He (Jones) made it crystal clear: as much as we are going to have defensive plans, line-speed — whatever we’re going to use tomorrow — the opportunities they give the opposition teams are very few and far between.
“We have to take those, and that’s not something you can coach and plan around. Opportunities are a ball hops and bounces a funny way … and the players want to take every opportunity they get — but that’s not always something you can control. It’s a big challenge, but we’re up for it.”
Leinster announced their team on Thursday as well, and coach Leo Cullen will be without injured flyhalf general Johnny Sexton and a number of other Six Nations champions such as hooker Dan Sheehan, flank Josh van der Flier and fullback Hugo Keenan.
But they are on a 19-match winning streak across the URC and Champions Cup this season, so the Stormers have their work cut out to do the almost impossible on Friday night.
Leinster thrive off counter-attacking opportunities and push the envelope with ball-in-hand through their backline, but the Stormers won’t hold back either in what is shaping up to be an epic battle.
“We want to play a high-paced game, and we want to impose our plan. I don’t think we are going to creep into our shells … that’s not the plan for tomorrow night,” Dobson said.
“They are a multi-phase team, and if in those phases they get quick ball, it puts your defence under pressure. We will probably look to compete physically at certain areas, to try to slow down their ball, and also at source, where the pack is very important.
“But in terms of how we play, we certainly want to give it a crack and move the ball a bit.”
Leinster starting XV: 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 (capt), 5 Jason Jenkins, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Michael Ala’alatoa, 2 John McKee, 1 Michael Milne. Replacements: 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 starting XV: 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 (capt). Replacements: 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.
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland).
IOL Sport