[LOOK] We’re not Franse: Stormers want to show the world who we are in Clermont
Back: Bok prop Steven Kitshoff
The Stormers are out to show that they belong at the top table of the rugby world when they face Clermont in their first ever European Champions Cup on Saturday.
You will be able to say you were there when we played our first @ChampionsCup home game at DHL Stadium.
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) December 6, 2022
We've got @londonirish visiting next week in the first of three Summer Sundowners. Come help us welcome them to Cape Town.
🎟️ Get your tickets now https://t.co/7FU9SozSMz pic.twitter.com/ElZjdGhIbO
Playing in their first match against French opposition in the “Champions League” of rugby, the Stormers want to druk af their stempel from the start.
Coach John Dobson, who left with his team for France yesterday, says of their trip to France: “I’ve never been there [at Clermont’s Stade Marcel-Michelin].
“[Former Wales scrumhalf] Dwayne Peel said to me last week it’s one of the most incredible experiences he’s ever had.
“We are pleased to be going to such a famous place. It’s a statement game for us to show that the Stormers should be at the top table of world rugby - club, union or franchise rugby as the United Rugby Championship champions.
“It’s a really big game for us to show that we’re up there.”
Dobson, who named his squad for the trip yesterday, welcomed back his Springboks and says they will hold nothing back in an effort to prove that they’re not franse.
⛈️ Here is the 26-man DHL Stormers group that will fly to France for our first-ever @ChampionsCup match against @ASMOfficiel on Saturday.
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) December 5, 2022
📄 Full squad announcement https://t.co/Dj3m8fJxKq#iamastormer #dhldelivers #HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/7FZEFlCVLF
With the Stormers currently third on the log in the URC, which is on a break for the next two weeks, he adds: “It’s a massive occasion for us and we’re not going to experiment with selection…
“We’ll be a lot more full-noise [this] week and even more the week thereafter. We want to show who we are and the style of rugby we play.
“We’re going to go for it and try and play Stormers rugby and make Cape Town people [proud] and try to perform well.”
STORMERS TOURING SQUAD:
Kwenzo Blose, Angelo Davids, Hacjivah Dayimani, Paul de Wet, Ben-Jason Dixon, Dan du Plessis, Willie Engelbrecht, Neethling Fouche, Brok Harris, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Herschel Jantjies, Alapati Leuia, Manie Libbok, Godlen Masimla, Salmaan Moerat, Sacha Mngomezulu, Marvin Orie, Junior Pokomela, Evan Roos, Adre Smith, Chad Solomon, Marcel Theunissen, Ernst van Rhyn, Andre-Hugo Venter, Ali Vermaak, Damian Willemse, Nama Xaba, Leolin Zas.