Cape Town - The Stormers are eyeing more scrum dominance in their Super Rugby clash against the Jaguares at Newlands on Saturday.
Register your interest for the British & Irish Lions tickets in South Africa 2021
The Capetonians are unbeaten in three games this season but their prowess at scrum time, in particular, has caught the eye.
Coach John Dobson has the luxury of fielding a Springbok tighthead prop in Wilco Louw on his bench and he is expected to make a significant impact when he replaces fellow Springbok Frans Malherbe in the second stanza - in what will be Louw's 50th Stormers cap.
"We have a proud scrum culture and proud forwards. They guys work hard for each other and it's in the Stormers' DNA to dominate," Louw said on Thursday, as quoted by Netwerk24.
But Louw warned that the Jaguares will be no pushovers.
"The same goes for the Jagaures. They are big and also try to dominate you up front. We'll have to stand our ground there."
Meanwhile, Louw announced earlier this month that he would leave the Stormers after the Super Rugby season to join English club Harlequins.
Dobson said he understood Louw's decision to leave.
"People ask why we let Wilco go. He obviously has his own plans and ambitions, ant those are important. Given how much we like Wilco, we'd like to respect (his decision). He's one of the best tighthead props in world rugby.
"It's a case of us not being prepared to pay the same (as Harlequins). He leaves with our blessing. It's a luxury this season to have him and Frans Malherbe," the coach said.
Saturday's clash at Newlands kicks off at 15:05.
Teams:
Stormers
15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Jaco Coetzee, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain)
Substitutes: 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Chris van Zyl, 20 Johan du Toit, 21 Ernst van Rhyn, 22 Godlen Masimla, 23 Jean-Luc du Plessis
Jaguares
15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Santiago Chocobares, 12 Juan Cruz Mallia, 11 Sebastien Cancelliere, 10 Domingo Miotti, 9 Tomas Cubelli (captain), 8 Rodrigo Bruni, 7 Tomas Lezana, 6 Francisco Gorrison, 5 Lucas Paulos, 4 Matias Alemanno, 3 Santiago Medrano, 2 Santiago Socino, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chapparro
Substitutes: 16 Julian Montoya, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Joel Sclavi, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Marcos Kremer, 21 Gonzalo Bertranou, 22 Joaquin Diaz Bonilla, 23 Matias Moroni
- Compiled by Herman Mostert
