With Marvin Orie and Deon Fourie back in the fray for the Vodacom United Rugby Championship final, the DHL Stormers have a plan to deal with Munster’s Springbok lock, RG Snyman.
The two veteran Stormers forwards have recovered from the injuries that saw them miss the home semi-final against Connacht as coach John Dobson opted to take a gamble and rest them for the final.
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The Stormers will look to defend their title at a sold out Cape Town Stadium against Munster, the side that ended their 16-month home winning run and the one team that the Stormers have yet to beat in the Vodacom URC.
While Orie did face Munster in that fateful game in Cape Town last month, Fourie sat out due to the cheekbone injury he suffered during the Champions Cup playoff against Harlequins and the opensider’s presence was missed at the breakdown.
Dobson made it clear after the semi-finals that both players would be back for the final and forwards coach Rito Hlungwani reassured Stormers fans when asked about their fitness during a press conference on Monday.
“Marvin and Deon were both training today and they have been training with us since last week. They will be available for selection,” said Hlungwani.
“They are 100 percent fit,” Hlungwani added, when further pressed on the duo.
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Being able to call on two of their most valuable members of the pack will come as a massive boost to the Stormers as they look to correct a winless record against Munster.
The Irish side will be able to once again rely on the services of fit-again RG Snyman, who gave the Stormers a torrid time at the lineout and in open play.
“RG is a Springbok. He is a guy we highly respect and he is highly-respected around the world,” said Hlungwani.
“If I was to point out one thing he does well, he is a tall guy and through contact he is able to offload the ball pretty well. We know his strengths and are ready to try and nullify him on Saturday.”
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The hosts also struggled to shut down Munster’s driving maul, something possibly owing to the lack of preparation time for that game due to the amount of travelling the Stormers had done.
However, Hlungwani was confident that the Stormers have fixed what went wrong and will be better prepared for whatever Munster throw at them.
“Munster definitely has a strong maul. We have looked at it and the ways that we can try and stop it.
“We weren’t as disciplined as we usually are. That’s one thing we spoke about and hopefully we can put that right. That’s as much as we want to give away. The rest of the stuff you will be able to see on Saturday.”
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