The Stormers take part during a training session at Bishops in Rondebosch FILE - The Stormers work on drills during a training session at Bishops in Rondebosch. Photo: Armand Hough/African News Agency (ANA)
Cape Town — The Stormers will be looking to bounce back after suffering their first defeat in 15 United Rugby Championship matches when they lost to Cardiff last weekend, while the Lions will be hunting their first win at home in four matches.
The hosts' home match with Glasgow Warriors last weekend was postponed, and their most recent outing was a 37-39 home defeat to Ulster on October 15. So, they will also be desperate to get the W.
The last time the two sides met was in February. At that time, the defending champions had just started to gain momentum. But both the Capetonians and the Lions are very different teams now.
Up until last weekend, the Stormers were on an impressive winning streak, while the Lions have looked much sharper than the team that failed to make the top eight of the URC in the inaugural season.
The Lions have now strung together three unbeaten results on their overseas tour and came close to beating Ulster and the Bulls at home.
It should be a thrilling meeting in Johannesburg tomorrow, and it's a game that's quite tough to call, and while the Stormers are undoubtedly the top South African team, the Lions have good reason to fancy their chances of getting a home win today.
Here are three Stormers weaknesses the Lions can exploit:
The Stormers line-out
The Cape side's line-out was far from a well-oiled machine towards the end of last season, and it’s an issue that has followed them into the second edition of the URC.
The Stormers have struggled at the set piece since then, and the real problem was perhaps the turnstile the Number 2 position became thanks to injury.
Skew throws blunted the Cape unit's momentum and saw the opposition exit too easily, and while things went better at the line-out in their last outing, their throw-ins and not finding their jumpers.
The Stormers scrum
This isn't something that can be said too often when the Stormers are the topic of a conversation, but their scrum hasn't been a strong weapon this season.
Given the quality of that pack and its strong Springbok flavour, it's no surprise that the scrum has been one of John Dobson's side's sharpest tools.
So far this season, however, they haven't consistently been getting the reward. And this weekend will be particularly challenging.
It will be interesting to see how the Cape side go at the scrum without their Springboks.
Stormers breakdown
Okay, let's be fair — while the Stormers would have wanted things to go better at the breakdown in their last outing, the fact that they couldn't get momentum had a lot to do with the hosts being allowed to get away with murder on the ground.
Regardless, it's not an area that will be brimming with momentum this weekend, so it's something for the Lions to target.
@WynonaLouw
IOL Sport
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