A 28-man DHL Stormers squad will head to George this weekend, as the Men from the Cape start their 2015 Vodacom Super Rugby preparations against the SWD Eagles at Outeniqua Park on Saturday (Kick-Off 16:30 SA Time).
Stormers squad for George:
New captain Duane Vermeulen will lead a starting XV with four Test players – three Springboks and an Argentine international – whilst props Steven Kitshoff (back from a long-term injury) and Vincent Koch (a new signing) are the other noteworthy inclusions.
Dillyn Leyds, after making his return from Australia during last year’s Absa Currie Cup competition, will start on the left-wing – part of an exciting back three with EW Viljoen on the right-wing and speedster Cheslin Kolbe lining up at fullback.
Stormers Media Release
DHL Stormers coach Allister Coetzee told the www.iamastormer.com website: “We have trained very well so far, and had a particularly successful trip to Hermanus last week. However, as we all know there is no substitute for actual game time and trying out what you have trained in an actual game situation.
“We have some goals in mind ahead of Saturday’s match, which includes making use of an enlarged bench, so we’re looking forward to getting some answers this week in our first of three pre-season matches.”
The DHL Stormers will arrive in George on Friday. The entire playing squad will meet fans and sign autographs after Saturday’s match at Outeniqua Park.
DHL Stormers for SWD Eagles: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 EW Viljoen, 13 Juan de Jongh (Vice-captain), 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Kurt Coleman, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Duane Vermeulen (Captain), 7 Michael Rhodes, 6 Rynhardt Elstadt, 5 Manuel Carizza, 4 Gerbrandt Grobler, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Oliver Kebble, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Jurie van Vuuren, 20 Neil Rautenbach, 21 Michael Willemse, 22 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 23 Louis Schreuder, 24 Demetri Catrakilis, 25 Huw Jones, 26 Jaco Taute, 27 Godlen Masimla, 28 Robert du Preez
Referee: Quinton Immelman
Fitness Report:
Loose forwards Nizaam Carr and Siya Kolisi will not be available for Saturday’s pre-season friendly against the SWD Eagles in George, but the DHL Stormers’ long-term injured players are all making good progress ahead of the 2015 Vodacom Super Rugby tournament.
Carr was in hospital last week with a severe viral infection, but has since been discharged and is recovering well at home, whilst Kolisi is resting a hamstring niggle from last week.
The likes of locks Jean Kleyn and Ruan Botha and prop Frans Malherbe are all still making good progress from their long-term injuries, meanwhile, with Kleyn joining full team training on Monday.
The DHL Stormers will travel to George on Friday, ahead of Saturday’s meeting with the SWD Eagles at Outeniqua Park (kick-off 16h30). The team, to face the Eagles, will be announced on Tuesday late morning.
The DHL Stormers will open their 2015 Vodacom Super Rugby campaign against the Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday 14 February (Kick-Off 19:10 SA Time). Their first home game is against the Blues, at DHL Newlands, on Saturday 21 February (17:05 SA Time).
Before then, however, the 2011 and 2012 SA Conference winners will participate in three pre-season friendlies over the next three weeks – this weekend against SWD, the Cheetahs (30 January – home, Kick-Off 19:00 SDA Time) and the Boland Cavaliers (7 February – away, Kick-Off TBC).
Injury List (19/01/2015):
- Loose forward Nizaam Carr (viral infection) is recovering well at home and should be available for selection in two weeks’ time.
- Flanker Siya Kolisi (tight hamstring) is in the final phase of treatment and should train fully next week. He will not be available for selection this week.
- Wing Kobus van Wyk (back) is recovering well after missing training late last week, but will not be risked this weekend.
- Prop Frans Malherbe (ankle) continuing to respond well to treatment from his long-term injury. Will join full team training in about 2 weeks.
- Jean Kleyn (meniscus) continuing to respond well to treatment from his long-term injury. Kleyn did his first team training session today (Monday), but will not be considered for selection as yet.
- Ruan Botha (ankle) continuing to respond well to treatment from his long-term injury. Will join full team training in about 2 weeks.
2 Incredibly suspect wings for the Stormers, but luckily for them Kobus van Wyk is on the mend.
I do not see the name of Eben Etzebeth anywhere… also not on the Injury List… anybody know what the story is there?
@ grootblousmile:
He’ll play one or two of the other games I suspect.
One thing where AC>>>Ludeke is that he isn’t brainwashed into believing you NEED a fetcher even go so far as to try and manufacture one that just isnt there because of the media pressure. Stommers are going to have a good year I think.
3 @ MacroBull:
But one DOES NEED a fetcher… otherwise the balance in the loosies and the way they compliment each other is just not fully there…
A Loosie trio is like a small team within the team… special forces if you will… hahaha
If you’ve played there, you would understand the joke…
Ludeke’s problem was not that he did not know or understand that he needed a fetcher, it was who he chose to act as fetcher, which was such a failure.
@ grootblousmile:
I agree that if you have a quality fetcher available then you should play him, I disagree that you need one to be competitive like the Stommers showed over the last few years.
If you can play 3 good loose forwards then why not? having a fetcher during the Currie Cup meant nothing to the Bulls, I’d rather have a loosie that hits the rucks hard than a mediocre fetcher for the sake of having one.
Quality fetchers are a rare breed, the Stormers and Sharks plays to their strengths.
It would be a calamity for the Bulls to replace Stegman with a makeshift fetcher in case he got injured just for the sake of having a fetcher in the team.
Can’t believe that some still contend, “no need for a fetcher”
6 @ Angostura:
Hi Angostura, agree fully with you, after all someone has to fetch Jakes beers…. 😀
@ Angostura:
Sure I do, especially when you don’t have a proper one.
Did the Sharks need a fetcher to beat the Crusaders?
In 2013 the rest of the Cheetahs loose trio turned over more balls than Brussouw, even Coenie and Strauss… where did they end up?
MacroBull wrote:
Semi finalists?
@ nortie:
Exactly, your not going to tell me the teams “fetching” responsibilities are based solely on the open side flank.
@ MacroBull:
I’m not saying anything 😆
MacroBull wrote:
**
What a silly argument: Is there any responsibility in a rugby team that is the sole domain of only one player in the team? Is their any skill in a rugby team that only one player in the team need possess?
sjoe {shakes head}
But, even so, and as a general proposition, play your best specialist in a specialist position, and go out of your way to field complementary combinations …
Look, I am saying that a fetcher flank provides better balance to a loose trio, to hunt together…
It you do not have a quality out and out fetcher, sure… then you should not try to play a sub-standard fetcher just for the sake of playing a specialist fetcher and one would then rather play another blindside-type loosie.
BUT… and it is a big BUT, then the role division in the rest of the team also needs to change to accomodate the lack of the fetcher flank, having to provide players from some other positions (eg. hooker) to play much more towards the ball… in order to play some kind of fetcher role or fill that void… whether it be the hooker or a prop or even a centre who plays towards the ball or a combination of them.
One constantly needs players who arrive at the breakdowns super-fast, on their feet, hands over the ball… stealing it or slowing down opposition ball.
The typically great fetcher (whether he is an openside flank or a hooker or a centre or whatever) has a lower center of gravity, shorter stockier legs and great upperbody strenght – to compete for the ball whilst his legs are firmly planted, and with the strenght in that upperbody to fight off competitors for THAT ball. He needs to be fast, agile and his technique needs to be solid and sound.
Damn, once again I have just described the Classic Openside flank.. like Stegmann, Brussow, Jaco Kriel, Flo Louw, Marcell Coetzee… hehehe
What other player position on the field is more ideal than for the “Fetcher” to be on the openside of the scrums, where he has easy and a direct and relatively clear pathway to the next tackle or breakdown point?
That in short, is why I would always go with a good openside flank fetcher, if there is one available.
If not, you have to contrive to get that same result.
I see the role play between the loosies, in a classical loosie combo as: A short stocky openside flanker who plays towards the ball, a hard and demon tackling blinsider who is also great at carrying the ball up plus a Number 8 with hands of gold and who is a great link and strike runner. When one of these elements are missing, the balance is not right and has to be alleviated by other contrived measures… somehow.
MacroBull wrote:
I think the Lions picked a lot of fetchers for the CC Semi against the Sharks last year and it worked for them
@ Angostura:
My argument is in cases luke the bulls there is no use replacing Stegman with a “specialist” fetcher when it is a secondary player or forcing players to play a role they cant, id rather play arno botha at 6 for the bulls like the stormers successfully did with kolisi where that player can shine in other roles than force players who simply are not good enough to “play to the ball”. That is the trap ludeke fell into last year.
@ MacroBull:
Arno’s knee is questionable, I wouldn’t play him at fetcher, he won’t last
Do we have other out and out fetchers except Steggies?
Steggies is good if he’s fit but he’s been injured a lot the last two seasons
Fetching is hard on the body and if you’re getting older even harder
@ grootblousmile:
Dean greyling had the most turnovers in the currie cup tournament last year.
Im not underestimating the benefits of players like Hooper who no doubt had a huge impact on the Tahs title hopes last year and also the mccaw factor, but it can easily be a trap and as per my initial post, AC does well to avoid this. Though he is blessed with Duane i think that should be the standard for no8’s.
@ Victoriabok:
Roelof smit is the other “opensider” as far as i know though as far as we seen the other loosies are just much better in general play.
@ Victoriabok:
Ons hoop maar Arno se knieg hou, as hy nie n fisiese speler gaan wees nie en ons moet heeltyd sy knieg beskerm gaan hy nie lank by die bulle hou nie wat dit as hulle ‘brand’ beskou
17 @ MacroBull:
There is no denying that one has to play quality players, so if one does not have a quality fetcher, then one needs to make another plan. One then rather plays a quality loosie who is not an out-and-out fetcher BUT then at the same time you have to instruct certain other players to play more towards the ball…. and they need to achieve that.
There are 160 PLUS breakdown situations in the average game, where some or other form of fetcher’s role is critical…. compare that to 12 – 18 Scrums per match and 10 – 15 lineouts per match and once again the need to manage the breakdown at all costs hits you, full on!
Other breakdown play factors are important too… not only the role of the fetcher, mind you! Things like body position, blowing over the opposition ground ball (counterrucking with effect), having the right technique to protect your own ball and making it fast, slowing down opposition ball as legally as possible, protecting your scrumhalf, putting the opposition scrumhalf under immense pressure, staying on your feet, communicating well…. they are all important elements of managing the breakdowns!
Let me put it this way… a quality openside fetcher flank has never hurt a side, whereas the lack of a quality openside fetcher flank keeps hurting many sides every bloody week!
The dom doos of a coach who does not believe in a fetcher flank, needs his head read, and even more so if he has access to quality fetcher flanks and he does not use them accordingly.
To suddenly expect somebody who does not normally play towards the ball to be a classic fetcher flank, is just as Ludeke… errr I mean ludicrous… as we saw in the clear example of Jono Ross…. hell Jono was not even a great No 8 at the best of times.
Having Dean Greyling making the most turnovers in the Bulls camp is an endictment against Ludeke and a feather in the cap of Wors Greyling… but also remember where the Bulls ended in the Currie Cup… they did not make it or win the competition… so obviously there is something wrong, anyway.
Detailing Hooper and McCaw’s effectiveness, just solidifies the need for that type of player… the classic fetcher!
We can debate this point till Oom Daantjie in die kallerhok, and I would still choose to go with a balanced loose trio, which includes a fetcher flank!
MacroBull wrote:
I was sad to see Tecklenburg go to the Lions, he would have been the ideal successor for Steggies
@ grootblousmile:
Dean made the most turnovers in the entire currie cup of teams.
I know all those factors are involved in the breakdwon play but that is structure d around the whole team in the field.
Again steggies is first choice for the bulls. because he is an opensider. But in case he is injured i would rather have a player replace him that plays to his strengths than have another Jono Ross situation, Roelof Smit also does not measure up (at this stage).
Again as per my initial post where AC > ludeke he is selecting Elstadt as an opensider and he has before because Elstadt will make a big impact regardless of being selected to maybe just steal 2 balls a game.
PUB is open boys… en gee vir Moosa ‘n tripple sodat hy kan ophou biets en moan… maak gou!
grootblousmile wrote:
Ek sal di onthou elke keer wat jy biets en moan oor ludeke 😉
Ludeke had at his disposal 2 Junior Bok opensiders, yet he did as MacroBull suggests, he played another loose forward, who is not & never will be an opensider/fetcher, in that specialist position when Steggies was not available.
I can’t speak for Tecklenburg, but perhaps he saw the writing on the wall & realised that he will only receive a fair shot at the Lions … and the rest is history.
Contracting the bulk of young talent in SA & then sadly not giving realistic opportunity to such talent to prove their worth at high level is often (with a few notable exceptions) the Bull’s way …
THAT is the real indictment … imo
@ Angostura:
Everyone has a choice to sign or not to sink or swim and to move elsewhere, where competition will likely be just as tough.
Who were those two junior bok opensiders?
Back on topic.
On the bench.
3 hookers, 4 props and a lock on the bench. No loose forward cover?
I suppose toetie could just take Duane off mid game and not replcae him if he wanted to… Interesting selections.
MacroBull wrote:
Wiaan Liebenberg & Roelof Smit
MacroBull wrote:
Skuna Notshe is a loose forward – a good one too with potential being only 21 – with pedigree, ook, having progressed via SA High Performance u/18, SA Schools, WP Junior teams, WP Senior & Stormers – makes one wonder why AC is lauded for selecting a sometimes lock/sometimes basher flank with a poor disciplinary record as an opensider …
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