Deon Fourie has recovered his fitness and has been switched to flank for the DHL Stormers’ final Vodacom Super Rugby tour game against the Rebels in Melbourne on Friday.
Normally a hooker, Fourie’s ball scavenging skills would have been what prompted his switch of position to openside flank after the Stormers lost Duane Vermeulen to injury last week. Although a No 8, Vermeulen was the only loose-forward in the back row that played against the Waratahs in Sydney last time out that plays to the ball.
Scarra Ntubeni gets his first start of the season at Super Rugby level and the Stormers will be hoping that he can bring more consistency to his throwing at the lineouts than Fourie did. Ntubeni, a star of Western Province’s victory in last season’s Currie Cup final, is also a strong scrummager (At 90 odd kgs?).
The Stormers back-row looks very different to the one that played the Waratahs, with Nizaam Carr also getting his first start of the season at No 8. Siya Kolisi, normally a No 6, moves to blindside flank in place of Rynhardt Elstadt, who was also injured in Sydney and like Vermeulen will be out for six to eight weeks.
Rotation has played a big part in many of the selections, with coach Allister Coetzee describing the combination as an exciting one.
As anticipated, Elton Jantjies and Louis Schreuder come into the team as the new halfback combination. Gary van Aswegen drops to the bench and scrumhalf Dewaldt Duvenage drops out altogether as Nic Groom joins the replacements.
The rotation policy sees Pat Cilliers come into the side at tighthead in place of Frans Malherbe as the seventh change to the side that lost 21-15 last week.
DHL Stormers team: Joe Pietersen, Gio Aplon, Juan de Jongh, Jean de Villiers (captain), Bryan Habana, Elton Jantjies, Louis Schreuder, Nizaam Carr, Siya Kolisi, Deon Fourie, Andries Bekker, Eben Etzebeth, Pat Cilliers, Scarra Ntubeni, Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements: Martin Bezuidenhout, Frans Malherbe, Gerbrandt Grobler, Don Armand, Nic Groom, Gary van Aswegen, Gerhard van den Heever.
Our best hope is to run them off their feet? Difficult to find positives to pin ones hopes on.
I think we will be trying a very more attacking approach. A top side would put 50 on this team? Warts would have without doubt. Rebels must be looking forward to the match.
