Match Preview: Cardiff Rugby v DHL Stormers

Cardiff’s South African fly-half Tinus de Beer is well aware of the threat posed by the DHL Stormers and sums it up in one word - chaos.

“I played with a few of them, like Warrick Gelant, who was at the Bulls when I was there, and Willie Engelbrecht, who was my captain at the Pumas, a good guy,” says the man from Pretoria.

“They have got big forwards and fast, elusive backs. They rely on quite a lot of chaos in their game. They score tries off the bounce. Their game is all about the transition and they have got some backs that can really spark that up.

“Then when it’s time to get down and dirty, the forwards can provide that as well. It’s a good mixture.”

De Beer added: “The Stormers thrive on chaos, so we need to take that out of them and keep it as structured as we can.

“We can’t give them those loose balls. If we concede turnovers, they will be happy with that. So we need to keep the errors low and stay in structure.”

The DHL Stormers arrive at the Arms Park having suffered three successive defeats on the road, away to Glasgow Warriors, Benetton and Munster.

“All the South African teams find it difficult touring,” said De Beer. “Maybe it’s the cold, maybe it’s the wind, maybe they are missing their family and the people back home.

“The Stormers will be coming out wanting to prove a point. They will want to win the game and head back home with all smiles.

“They will be bang up for it, but we need to target it as a home game as well. Every match we have played so far this season has been close and we are really pushing to get that win. It would be good for the fans and for us as a team.”

DHL Stormers coach John Dobson commented: “We need the win. It’s very important for us.

“If we can win - which is a big if - we will go home with a 50 per cent record so far this season - three from six, but we will have played five away games. So we will be really well positioned.”

Cardiff Rugby v DHL Stormers

Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff – KO 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA / 21.35 SA

Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU, 10th league game)

AR 1: Dewi Phillips (WRU) AR 2: Carwyn Williams (WRU)

TMO: Andrew McMenemy (SRU)

Live on: BBC Wales, SuperSport, Viaplay, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

Cardiff Rugby: Cam Winnett, Harri Millard, Willis Halaholo, Ben Thomas, Mason Grady, Tinus de Beer, Ellis Bevan, Corey Domachowski, Liam Belcher (CAPT), Will Davies-King, Seb Davies, Rory Thornton, Alex Mann, Ellis Jenkins, Lopeti Timani

Replacements: Evan Lloyd, Rhys Carré, Rhys Litterick, Josh Turnbull, Mackenzie Martin, Jamie Hill, Jacob Beetham, Gabriel Hamer-Webb

DHL Stormers: Clayton Blommetjies, Courtnall Skosan, Ruhan Nel, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ben Loader, Jean-Luc du Plessis, Stefan Ungerer, Brok Harris (CAPT), Andre-Hugo Venter, Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, Adre Smith, Ruben van Heerden, Nama Xaba, Willie Engelbrecht, Marcel Theunissen

Replacements: Scarra Ntubeni, Sti Sithole, Neethling Fouche, Connor Evans, Hendre Stassen, Keke Morabe, Herschel Jantjies, Warrick Gelant