Stormers' John Dobson backs rookie midfielder Jonathan Roche: ‘He has no respect for his body’

Rookie centre Jonathan Roche will have another opportunity to stamp his authority in the Stormers’ midfield when they face French powerhouse La Rochelle on Saturday afternoon.

The 22-year-old impressed off the bench against Bayonne last weekend and has been selected as Ruhan Nel’s midfield partner for a crucial home Champions Cup clash at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (3pm kick-off).

Roche recently returned from injury and had to bide his time until the Bayonne match for a run, but he took his chance and has now cracked a starting berth. Plenty will be expected from the midfield combination, and while flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and scrumhalf Cobus Reinach will direct the attack, Roche and Nel will be key to executing it.

However, it is on defence where their partnership will face its sternest test.

Nel and the more experienced Wandisile Simelane have formed an exciting combination during the early stages of the season. But director of rugby John Dobson explained that Simelane will start on the bench, covering outside centre and fullback.

Dobson was full of praise for Roche, saying there is “something special” about him. The youngster received his first Springbok alignment camp invitation this season.

“We could have gone Ruhan at 12 and Wandi (Simelane) at 13, but we think Johnny has got something special,” Dobson said.

“It might be completely unscientific, but I can see him make a tackle break. His defence is outstanding. It is going to be a physical game, and he has no respect for his body. Johnny has that X-factor.”

“Wandi has been great for us, but we need to build capacity at inside centre going into these derbies. Dan (du Plessis) will be out for a while, so we wanted to give Johnny a spin. We feel he will be great.”

Dobson added that they expect the match to open up in the second half, which is why they have selected players capable of breaking the game open. Simelane is one of them and can cover multiple positions if required.

Utility back Damian Willemse and lock Ruben van Heerden are the other regulars unavailable through injury. They, along with the returning Suleiman Hartzenberg, will be up for selection next week when the Stormers host the Lions.

Other injured stars — winger Seabelo Senatla, forwards Deon Fourie, Frans Malherbe and Keke Morabe — remain sidelined for a while longer. Fourie and Morabe are expected to return at the end of January.

Although the Stormers are in good form, captain Salmaan Moerat insists there is still room for improvement, particularly in discipline. They have been on the receiving end of several yellow cards and a red, and playing with 14 men will put them under huge pressure against La Rochelle.

“Our discipline was a massive talking point this week. I think we’ve played about 50 minutes with 14 players in the past couple of games. That is unacceptable at this level.

“The controllable penalties we must work on. But we can’t get into the stupid off-the-ball things. However, despite all of that, this team has shown a lot of fight when down.”