TOULON, France – Stormers coach John Dobson has explained his team selection for the Cape-based franchise’s Champions Cup round of 16 clash with Toulon on Saturday 4 April.

The Stormers face a tough fixture in France, with Dobson opting to start Jurie Matthee at flyhalf, as Springbok Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu adds firepower to the bench.

He is joined there by recent regular starter JD Schickerling, with Connor Evans starting in the No. 5 jersey.

Managing the load

Dobson said that it was not a case of Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who has had somewhat of an inconsistent season, or Schickerling being dropped, but more about managing their load and using them to the Stormers’ advantage in the second half.

“We have picked a team that we feel can sustain a significant challenge from start to finish,” said Dobson.

“We thought guys like JD and Sacha could make a difference coming on [in the second half].

“We also wanted to build a bit of capacity by giving Connor and Jurie some rugby, so it was about building depth but also thinking about how we want to finish this game.

“It’s up to the team that starts to make sure we’re in touch or in a good position to attack this game at the end with our bench.

“There’s no element of merit in JD being dropped or Sacha or anything like that.

“It’s just that we felt this is the right game, looking at some of the loads and the games we’ve got coming up over the next few weeks,” Dobson added.

No illusions

Despite the Stormers being the underdogs for the clash, with most pundits saying that Toulon will progress in the competition, Dobson was bullish about his side’s chances, although he acknowledged that they had it all to do.

“We have come up against RC Toulon in this competition before, so we know that we can expect intensity for 80 minutes on the pitch,” said Dobson.

“We’ve got no illusions about what people think the outcome’s going to be, but we’ll be giving them a pleasant surprise tomorrow.

“I have no doubt.”

• Today’s match kicks off at 16:00.

Source: Kickoff.com