Dobson concerned about captain Nel’s injury, happy about win against Bristol

The Stormers, and Director of Rugby John Dobson, are hoping for the best, after an injury to captain Ruhan Nel ruled him out of their solid 49-12 Champions Cup opening round win over Bristol Bears at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.

Nel was named to lead the side and his name was still on the team sheet when European Rugby (EPCR) officially announced the teams on Friday afternoon, but shortly before the game on Saturday it emerged that he had been ruled out.

Wandisile Simelane had been elevated from outside the squad straight into the No 13 jersey, while rising loose forward star Paul de Villiers, who captained the Junior Springboks back in 2023, was given the captaincy arm band for the first time.

Despite the late disruption, and some ill-discipline from the Stormers that saw them receive a 20-minute red card, to hooker JJ Kotze, and a yellow card to wing Leolin Zas, both for head contact in high tackles, they eventually pulled away from English side Bristol to secure what could be a vital bonus point win.

Speaking after the match, Dobson said that he was unsure of the severity of Nel’s injury.

“It’s a calf (injury). Hopefully it is just a week (out). But we will obviously be conservative because that (injury) could be three or four months as well,” said Dobson when quizzed on it.

Flat performance

Looking at the team’s performance Dobson was satisfied with the result, especially after admitting that they were relatively flat, particularly in the first half, and during their 30 minutes down to 14 and then 13 men at a stage.

“We were a little bit flat in the first half, energy-wise, and thought things were just going to come easily. Our scrum was clearly dominant early on, and I think we just felt a little bit like it was going to come too naturally,” explained Dobson.

“Then obviously once the cards (came), you get into game management, and that is taking the match exactly where we don’t want to go. We couldn’t tire them with the pressure of the scrum or maul. We had to spend 25, 26 minutes in game management, which took the flow out of the game.

“But we didn’t feel overly under pressure. So credit to Paul and the leadership, and then we got it going in the second half.”

After a win over Connacht and loss to Edinburgh on tour in the URC, followed by a home URC win over the Sharks and this weekend’s win over Bristol, the Stormers will want to end the month strongly as they welcome Scarlets and Ulster to Cape Town in the URC, before they enjoy a month off.