Moerat: We aim to land the first blow

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Stormers skipper Salmaan Moerat emphasises the importance of early dominance in Saturday’s Vodacom URC North-South derby at Cape Town Stadium.

Moerat on Friday addressed the media in a Stormers conference, where attack and backline coach Dawie Snyman backed flyhalf Jurie Matthee to execute the Cape side's gameplan against the Vodacom Bulls in the absence of injured Springbok Manie Libbok.

"A game of rugby can go either way; sometimes you get a good start and other times you don't. It's all about how you respond to that," Moerat told reporters.

"Every team goes out to get a fast, excellent start. We want to go out there and give the first blow, likewise the Bulls. But it's a massive opportunity, and not so much pressure, for this group of [Stormers] players.

"We're in front of our home crowd playing against a quality Bulls team, looking to see what they're made of, so I'm really excited."

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Matthee and scrumhalf Stefan Ungerer link up at halfback in the ninth instalment of the URC's North-South derby. The Stormers have won the first seven – including the 2021-22 Grand Final – while the Bulls clinched the most recent clash at Loftus in March 2024.

Dan du Plessis also returns from a long-term knee injury to partner Wandisile Simelane in a new-look midfield while prop Sazi Sandi and lock Gary Porter are set to make their eighth and second appearances of the season, respectively, off the bench.

The towering JD Schickerling (shoulder) and seasoned scrum anchor Neethling Fouche (concussion), though, are unavailable.

"Anyone who is in the Stormers squad is good enough to play for the Stormers; we all train the same way and have the mindset, but each guy will bring something different to the game," Snyman said. 

"We will focus on a guy like Jurie's strengths, what he brings to the game, and Sazi and Wandi when they come in are allowed to play their game and what's comfortable for them.

"We're confident we can play the way we want to play."

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Moerat added: "We've been really unfortunate with all the injuries, and the timing of them. Got about eight or nine players out at the moment, and those are really key players for us.

"Nettas is going to be sorely missed but a guy like Sazi is really hungry to play … I'm excited to see what he can bring. You can't really compare the two, Manie and Jurie, but they both bring their own quality.

"[Matthee] is still fairly young so this is a game he must've dreamed about playing since starting his professional career."

Snyman, meanwhile, shed light on injuries for outside backs Seabelo Senatla, Ruhan Nel and Sulieman Hartzenberg.

"Seabelo has a calf injury and hopefully he'll be back next week," he said. "Ruhan has a serious shoulder injury, he's going to see a specialist and we'll await feedback [but] he'll be out for a while.

"Suleiman broke his hand [against Racing 92 on 18 January] and could be back when we face Scarlets and Ulster on tour [at the end of March]."

Photo: Wessel Oosthuizen/Gallo Images

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