Stormers
Brumbies (13) 25 / 15 (10) Stormers (Final Score)
The Brumbies and DHL Stormers do battle in Super Rugby at
Canberra Stadium, Canberra at 10:40 SA Time (19:40 Canberra Time 08:40 GMT).
This is the live match discussion Article.
The match is broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Cape Town-raised Jean-Pierre Smith will get his first start in Super Rugby when he claims the No 1 jersey for the Brumbies against the Stormers.
Smith makes his way into the starting team via the Brumbies bench where he has featured alongside twin brother, Ruan, since Round 2.
Lock Eben Etzebeth, who is sidelined with an ankle injury, should be ready to play for the Springboks in June.
The 22-year-old said he is hoping to return to action when the Stormers tackle the Sharks in Durban on 31 May. That would be the Cape side’s third last Super Rugby league match.
Stormers coach, Allister Coetzee, has made 5 changes to his team to take on the Brumbies this weekend. Peter Grant makes his return to the starting 15 to claim his 93rd cap.
After Round 5 of the Super Rugby season, the Stormers find themselves at the bottom of the try-scoring standings.
Having played 4 matches to date, the Stormers have scored a total of 5 tries – at an average of 1.25 per match.
The Brumbies injury list continues to grow with coach Stephen Larkham ruling out Wallaby prop Scott Sio and lock Leon Power for Saturdays match up with the Stormers.
The injury-depleted Stormers could be forced to play regular No 8 Duane Vermeulen at lock in their Super Rugby clash against the Brumbies in Canberra on Saturday, according to reports.
De Kock Steenkamp has picked up a groin injury and is likely to be sidelined for a while.
De Kock Steenkamp has become the Stormers latest casualty, as the struggling team’s second row resources are stretched to the limit.
Steenkamp suffered groin injury in his team’s 20-36 loss to the Chiefs in Hamilton on Friday – a result that saw the men from Cape Town drop to second from last on the standings, just above the winless Hurricanes.
Chiefs (17) 36 / 20 (6) Stormers (Final Score)
The Chiefs and DHL Stormers did battle in Super Rugby at
Waikato Stadium, Hamilton at 08:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 06:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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The DHL Stormers side has suffered some injuries whilst on tour, with Scarra Ntubeni and Patrick Cilliers sent back to South Africa.
As a result, the Stormers are looking for suitable replacements to join them on tour.
In addition they have tried to obtain the services of Griquas hooker on loan, Martin Bezuidenhot, which have apparently been unuccessful.
DHL Stormers captain Jean de Villiers will make his 100th Vodacom Super Rugby appearance when he leads his team out against the Chiefs in Hamilton on Friday morning (SA time).
DHL Stormers coach Allister Coetzee was gutted for his players after their dramatic one-point defeat to the Crusaders on Saturday.
Crusaders (3) 14 / 13 (3) Stormers (Final Score)
The Crusaders and DHL Stormers did battle in Super Rugby at
AMI Stadium, Christchurch at 08:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 06:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Crusaders head coach Todd Blackadder has made 7 changes to the team that lost to the Blues in Auckland for this week’s Super Rugby match against the Stormers in Christchurch.
Wyatt Crockett will start at No 1 this week and Tim Perry moves to the bench. Luke Romano takes one of the starting lock positions alongside Sam Whitelock.
Coach Allister Coetzee has made four changes to his starting line-up for the DHL Stormers’ first match of their 2014 Vodacom Super Rugby tour.
The DHL Stormers will take on the Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday (kick-off 08:35 SA Time, 19:35 NZ Time) without injured forwards, lock Rynhardt Elstadt and flanker Siya Kolisi, with the fit-again De Kock Steenkamp and Schalk Burger replacing them up front.
Bad weather denied the DHL Stormers an opportunity to shake off jet lag on Tuesday when their training session in Christchurch, New Zealand, was halted after only 20 minutes.
The latest acquisitions to the Stormers’ Australasia tour squad, Samoan wing Sailosi Tagicakibau and flyhalf Peter Grant, were meant to be integrated into the team’s playing structures ahead of Saturday’s Super Rugby clash against the Crusaders.
But Stormers’ captain Jean de Villiers said on Tuesday that conditions were so bad that training was called off.
DHL Stormers coach Allister Coetzee is to name his team for Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby clash with the Crusaders in the early hours of the morning South African time on Wednesday, and it will be interesting to see what choices he comes up with in some key areas.
The Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers both scored their first wins of the season, but this past weekend of Super Rugby action should have confirmed the growing concern among neutrals that the story of the South African conference this year will be that there is the Sharks and then there’s rubbish.
The Sharks, who would hardly have been quaking in their boots as they watched the games featuring South African teams on television during their bye weekend, admittedly weren’t all that flush in their last performance, when they beat the Hurricanes.
It has been described as the “tour from hell” and also as “Mission Impossible”, but the toughness of the four-match trip that the DHL Stormers embarked upon with their departure from Cape Town on Sunday could just work for them.
The 19-18 win over the Hurricanes at Newlands this past Friday wasn’t enough to turn around the negativity that swamped Cape rugby after the shock defeat to the Lions in the opening game the week before, and which has arguably been around since the Currie Cup final last October.
The Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers returned to winning ways on a weekend of Vodacom Super Rugby where 6 from 7 home teams were victorious.
Ironically both the teams from Pretoria and Cape Town were outscored by 2 tries to 1 in their respective matches against the Lions and the Hurricanes, but won mainly because of pin-point goal-kicking accuracy.
On Friday evening the DHL Stormers snuck through by 19 / 18 against the Hurricanes at DHL Newlands, while the Vodacom Bulls beat the Lions by 25 / 17 in the first Gauteng-derby at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday afternoon.
It wasn’t a happy weekend for the Toyota Cheetahs though, as they lost their first tour match of the season by 35 / 14 to the Rebels in Melbourne.
The Cell C Sharks had a bye.
DHL Stormers head coach Allister Coetzee has announced a 27-man squad for his team’s four-match Super Rugby tour of Australasia.
Centre Jean de Villiers will lead the squad abroad, a group that includes new Samoan star Sailosi Tagicakibau and the Japan-based Peter Grant, but excludes Argentinean lock Manuel Carizza.
Stormers (6) 19 / 18 (12) Hurricanes (Final Score)
DHL Stormers and the Hurricanes did battle in Super Rugby at
Newlands, Cape Town at Fiday 28 Feb 19:10 SA Time (17:10 GMT, 06:10 Saturday 1 March NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Former Chiefs wing Sailosi Tagicakibau is set to join the Stormers on the Australasian leg of their Super Rugby tour.
The 31-year-old Samoan international has played 24 Tests (21 for Samoa and three for the Pacific Islanders) and has played in the last three World Cups.
Hurricanes prop Ben Franks will earn his 100th Super Rugby cap against the Stormers at Newland on Friday.
The Hurricanes face the Cape Town-based outfit in the second match of their South African tour.
Experienced flyhalf Peter Grant will hook up with the Stormers again in either the first or second week of their Super Rugby overseas leg … straight from his completed commitments in Japan.
This was confirmed by coach Allister Coetzee, who will relish adding “Bash’s” street wisdom to the tour mix as he is low on truly hardened, assertive characters and decision-makers in both the key slots of No 10 and scrumhalf this season.
Jaco Taute has been named at fullback for the DHL Stormers’ first home game of the 2014 Vodacom Super Rugby season.
The DHL Stormers will host the Hurricanes at DHL Newlands on Friday (kick-off 19:10), with Taute joining the starting line-up at fullback and Gio Aplon shifting across to the wing.
All Black and Hurricanes centre Conrad Smith admitted he was surprised by the Stormers’ showing against the Lions in Johannesburg last week.
Following their horror start to the season at Ellis Park last week, Stormers captain Jean de Villiers is expecting a major response from his side at Newlands on Friday.
De Villiers was furious with the way his charges capitulated against the Lions last week, and he admitted that their were some harsh words said behind closed doors when they reflected on what went wrong against the Lions.
After their humiliating loss to the Lions, the Stormers received more bad news with injuries to two key players.
According to reports, Argentine lock Manuel Carizza and flank Schalk Burger could miss Friday night’s match against the Hurricanes after picking up injuries in their 34-10 loss at Ellis Park on Saturday.
Lions (22) 34 / 10 (10) Stormers (Final Score)
The Lions and DHL Stormers did battle in Super Rugby at
Ellis Park, Johannesburg at 19:10 SA Time (17:10 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Lions head caoch Johan Ackermann has named his team to face the Stormers in their Super Rugby game at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The team sees a number of injury enforced changes.
Head coach Allister Coetzee has announced his starting line-up for the DHL Stormers’ first game of the 2014 Vodacom Super Rugby season – against the Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday (kick-off 19:10).
Springbok skipper Jean de Villiers will lead the DHL Stormers in their season-opener, with deputy Schalk Burger lining up in the No 7 jersey.
Top-14 outfit Grenoble are confident that they will have Stormers and Springbok wing Gio Aplon on their books for next season, club sources have said on Wednesday.
The DHL Stormers have been the South African side to be hit with the most pre-season injuries of all 5 Super Rugby Franchises. It has left them lean at lock and in the backline at wing and fullback.
Jaco Taute is rported to be out for 2 more weeks,as a result of which the Stormers have had to scramble to sign more depth, which now comes in the form of signing Shakes Soyizwapi from the EP Kings.
In addition, speculation is rife around what the constitution of the back three will be to run out against the Lions in Super Rugby on the weekend and the likelyhood is that Allister Coetzee would entrust a midfield spot next to Jean de Villiers to Michael van der Spuy.
The unavailability of fullback Jaco Taute for the Vodacom Super Rugby opener is just one of the many things that have given DHL Stormers coach Allister Coetzee reasons to be thoughtful ahead of the trip to Johannesburg on Saturday.
As the Lions were sounding a warning ahead of Ellis Park by shocking the Toyota Cheetahs 21 / 20 in Bloemfontein, a scratch Stormers team that included several youngsters who were still at school last year was on the way to a 29 / 24 defeat to the Boland Cavaliers in searing heat in Wellington.