Cape Town - There is no doubt that Zebre are the weakest team in the United Rugby Championship, but coach John Dobson is still wary of potential “banana peels” that may lurk for his Stormers side in Sunday’s clash in Stellenbosch (6.05pm kickoff).
The Italian team are rock-bottom of the standings with nine defeats in as many games, and have just two bonus points to show for their efforts.
The team from Parma have scored the fewest points (112), conceded the third-most points (306) and have the worst points-difference tally (-194).
And after receiving a 45-7 hiding from the Bulls in Italy, it appears as if it should be an easy ride for the Cape side on Sunday.
But Dobson pointed out that the Italian team nearly knocked over the Ospreys in Wales last weekend, going down 27-22, so it won’t just be a training exercise against Zebre.
“I don’t think there’s one element that we can feel comfortable around this Zebre (match). We know that they make teams uncomfortable – they were possibly unlucky not to beat the top Welsh side away in Wales last week,” Dobson said.
“We know how physical they are, we know how disruptive they are. So, in terms of our plans and our awareness, the one thing people could say to us is that you are playing Zebre, who you should beat.
“(But) Different stadium, after a break ... it’s got all sorts of banana peels. But I think the team is mature enough to be ready for it, and I think we are.”
The Stormers, though, hope to play the kind of attacking rugby that saw them beat the Bulls at Loftus, the Sharks in Cape Town and the Lions in Johannesburg in recent encounters, and do not want to dwell too long on the 19-17 defeat to Connacht a fortnight ago.
The Galway clash had its own unique circumstances, such as bad weather, strange refereeing interpretations, and the fact that the Stormers had to re-jig their backline after both Warrick Gelant and Dan du Plessis had to withdraw after the team’s arrival in Ireland.
Dobson expects both players to be ready for Sunday.
“We got a little bit frustrated with the Connacht experience. Not so much the experience of the trip but we had to move away from our normal game,” he said.
“We went to a different place and we had a different plan for both halves – we had two new plans in Connacht!
“We really want to get back to that tempo and how we play, and develop that over the next five weeks … That’s really important to us.
“We want to use that fast field, that wide field, the heat, our DNA – to really play an up-tempo game. We want to play a brand of rugby that resonates with this region – it’s part of the DNA of this region, and that’s going to be part of the engagement with the fans.
“If people don’t want to come back to stadia … People have moved on in some respects. Some people are worried about health, some people have taken up mountain-biking or bowls! They have filled their lives – their wives expect them to be home on Saturday afternoons, holding hands and not going off to rugby.
“So, we’ve got to give a compelling thing for people to come back into the stadium.
“It can’t just be a question of government declaring it’s open, and people will come flocking. That’s something that’s very, very important to us – not only for the people’s morale, but just for the business model, this industry.”