John Dobson believes the Stormers side set to face Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun on Friday night aren’t worrying about last season’s Vodacom URC quarter-final heartache.

Speaking from Scotland on Thursday, the Stormers director of rugby emphasised how his squad has evolved since last year’s defeat at the same venue, and possesses the depth and maturity to beat the defending champions.

“Where I do feel we are stronger is the guys that we’ve brought through in the depth,” Dobson told reporters in a teleconference. “Take Marcel [Theunissen], for example; I know he’s played 50-odd games for us but he’s developed into a really good player. 

“The Louw Nels, the Vernons, the Sazis, that element was probably missing or they were considerably less experienced this time last year.”

The statistics support Dobson’s confidence despite several notable absentees, as the Stormers arrive on the back of four consecutive bonus-point home victories, although Glasgow boast a 4-1 record against the Cape tourists since their first meeting in 2022.

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“I can list Kitsie [Steven Kitshoff], Frans Malherbe, Brok Harris, Deon Fourie, BJ Dixon and Damian Willemse who aren’t here, but it just feels like this group are considerably more advanced in terms of depth and our belief than we were this time last year. 

“It feels a lot different to us.”

Dobson has reinforced his starting XV while making tactical changes, Suleiman Hartzenberg notably getting a rare start at outside centre alongside Dan du Plessis, with Damian Willemse suspended following his Cardiff red card two weeks ago.

“We looked at the opposition, we looked at how we wanted to defend, we looked at the surface,” Dobson said of Hartzenberg’s shift from wing to midfield. “The way Suleiman played two weeks ago on the wing was excellent. 

“[But] it’s not really a stepping sort of surface, it’s a high-speed surface, you need somebody who can work back. We’ve got some tweaks to our defence where we think Suleiman will be really useful.

“Some plans around the aerial game, so it’s a horses for courses selection. But in terms do I think he’s got enough games there under the belt? Probably not ideally but you can’t account for injuries and suspensions. We think this is the best team we can put out.”

The back three features Warrick Gelant, Seabelo Senatla and Ben Loader, while Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu partners Stefan Ungerer at halfback. Springbok world champions Herschel Jantjies and Manie Libbok are named among the replacements.

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Dobson’s selection includes a 6-2 bench split, loaded with forward firepower including Vernon Matongo, Joseph Dweba, Sazi Sandi, JD Schickerling, Connor Evans and Nel.

“This season it’s [6-2 split] worked probably more than it’s failed,” Dobson said. “The idea is it’s a tight game in a quarter-final. You’ve got two Springboks on the bench in the backs. We’ve got Sacha, Manie can cover 10 and 15. Sacha can pretty much cover the whole backline.

“The 4G does require a lot of running. The pack is probably more likely to tire,” he added. “If we didn’t have that multi-skilled cover with the Suleimans and the Sachas and the Manies I would agree that 5-3 would be less risky.”

Despite his personal reservations about returning to Scotstoun, Dobson insists his players carry no psychological baggage.

“I’ve got some poor memories of here, and I think the playing group doesn’t share that,” he noted. “I don’t think if you go through the players, there’s anybody sitting there who’s going to be [fearful of losing], I think it’s more the coach than the players, if that makes sense. 

“We addressed it maturely by literally taking the rugby learnings from the experience here. A guy like Sacha is just super excited to go. He’s not worrying about the past.”

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