Ex Supersport:
DHL Stormers coach Robbie Fleck has made wholesale changes to his team for Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby tour clash with the Highlanders at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin.
Partly because of injury and partly because of tactical direction, Fleck has in all made nine changes if you include two positional switches. Those positional switches see Dillyn Leyds moving from fullback back to left wing to accommodate the return of SP Marais from injury at No 15, while Nizaam Carr moves from openside flank to No 8.
Carr’s move has opened the way for regular skipper Siya Kolisi to play his first game of the season as an openside flank, with Pieter-Steph du Toit continuing on the blindside. The Stormers have two loose-forwards on the bench in the form of Sikhumbuzo Notshe, who makes way for Carr at the back of the scrum, and newcomer Kobus van Dyk.
“We feel the loose trio we have selected for this game has the right balance and the right sort of feel,” said Fleck, who was speaking to the Cape media via a conference call from Dunedin early on Wednesday morning.
“We felt in the Lions game that preceded the tour that we needed someone to do the ball carrying role that Pieter-Steph does so well and that was why we chose him there last week. He had an outstanding game so we have decided to stick with it. Siya has played openside before but with him there we now feel we have two ball carriers on the flanks.
“At the moment we are struggling to get in behind the opposition and maybe having Siya and Pieter-Steph together we will achieve that better. We need to get more momentum up front than we currently are so that the backs can run onto the ball a bit better.”
Although Du Toit will be on the flank again he will continue as the leader of the lineout, with Jan de Klerk, who finished last week’s game against the Crusaders as a replacement, starting this week in the No 5 jersey in place of Chris van Zyl, who sits out this week due to concussion. De Klerk isn’t a perfect fit in the middle of the lineout role, but Fleck felt that it was too soon to push JD Schickerling, who has joined the group, into a playing role as he has just come back from injury.
“JD could have played at a push but he was only due to fly out to join us next week so we decided not to rush him. Pieter-Steph can move to lock later in the game and we have two loose-forwards on the bench in an attempt to blunt the Highlanders’ high tempo game. We felt we’d need the extra pace and mobility later in the game.”
There are two other changes to the pack, with Oli Kebble and Frans Malherbe coming in as the starting props in place of JC Janse van Rensburg and Wilco Louw in a rotational change.
“We felt that Frans needed some game time as he hasn’t had that much recently and he made a great impact when he came on last week and it is the same with Oli. JC and Wilco have started a lot of games this season,” said Fleck.
The backline changes were anticipated ones, with the return of Marais at fullback paving the way for Jano Vermaak’s return at scrumhalf after Dewaldt Duvenage was used there for tactical reasons against the Crusaders. Dan Kriel returns at inside centre for the injured Dan du Plessis, with Shaun Treeby set to make his Stormers debut against his former teammates from the bench.
“There have been a fair amount of injuries and that has accounted for a lot of the changes while we also have players coming back from injury, such as at fullback, which is why we have the back three reshuffle,” said the coach.
“Kurt Coleman (the back-up flyhalf) injured himself in training yesterday so wasn’t available, so that is why we have Bjorn Basson (who made way for Leyds’ return to wing) on the bench.”
DHL Stormers team: 15. SP Marais, 14.Cheslin Kolbe, 13.EW Viljoen, 12.Dan Kriel, 11.Dillyn Leyds, 10.Robert du Preez, 9.Jano Vermaak, 8.Nizaam Carr, 7.Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6.Siya Kolisi (captain), 5.Jan de Klerk, 4.Eben Etzebeth (vice-captain), 3.Frans Malherbe, 2.Bongi Mbonambi, 1.Oli Kebble.
Replacements: 16.Ramone Samuels, 17.JC Janse van Rensburg, 18.Wilco Louw, 19.Kobus van Dyk, 20.Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21.Dewaldt Duvenage, 22.Shaun Treeby, 23.Bjorn Basson.
