Hopefully Cobus Wiese will be ready and wide awake for all the “clever tricks” the Cheetahs could throw at the Stormers tomorrow (3.05pm kickoff) when he gets his first start of the season … because his coach Robbie Fleck sure is.
Wiese, pictured, who impressed during the Stormers’ pre-season games, will start at No 6 in the place of the injured Rynhardt Elstadt, who was ruled out for three months with an ankle injury against the Sunwolves last week.
The 19-year-old also had a good go when he came off the bench in Singapore last weekend, and Fleck said that his versatility and energy make him a good addition to the loose trio.
“His physicality around the park is pretty impressive. He has a high work rate and his lineout skills are decent. So he offers us a lot of options. He’s a young kid with a lot of energy. We just thought the balance with the loose forwards would suit us better for this game with him starting,” Fleck said.
Another man who has been rewarded for his good performances is Dan du Plessis, who will get his second start of the season against Franco Smith’s team, with Dan Kriel moving to the bench.
“Dan du Plessis had a pretty impressive game against the Kings. We’ll see what he can do. When he came on his combination was solid and his communication on defence was good,” Fleck said.
The Stormers have also been boosted by the return of fit-again Jano Vermaak, who impressed with fantastic form before he had to sit out due to injury. Vermaak will partner up with Robert du Preez, who will again start in the No 10 jersey after an instrumental performance against the Sunwolves.
“He (Vermaak) was in good form before his injury, so we welcome him back. Dewaldt was also excellent last week and it’s great to have two experienced scrumhalves like that at our disposal,” Fleck said.
One thing that wasn’t great last week, especially in the first half, was the Stormers’ defence. But Fleck was confident in his team’s ability to get it right against a team that will certainly test them.
“There has been a bigger emphasis on defence. We weren’t happy with our defence in the first half. The good thing about this team is when we talk about certain things, they correct it. So hopefully we see an improvement there,” he said.
Fleck also praised the Cheetahs for their innovative play, including their interesting lineout options in recent weeks. The Free Staters have used backs in their lineouts or mixed up the positioning of the players involved at the set-piece. And it’s worked for them, as they scored a superb try against the Bulls from a lineout, gained good ground after the set-piece in that game and in others. At the very least, unsettled teams with their tactic.
“The Cheetahs are a smart side. They’ll come with some clever tactics whether it’s in the lineouts or the scrums or in open play. They’ll come up with something," Fleck said.
“The good thing about them is that they always come up with something clever or unusual. It’s good to see that people are thinking differently in rugby. It’s good to see them thinking outside the box. So it’s always a challenging game for us and we need to be at our best to beat them. We have to prepare for anything. Especially if they come close to our line, they’re going to try something. And it’s good on them – it keeps us on our toes. It’s going to be a good game.”
Stormers:
15 SP Marais, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 EW Viljoen, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Siya Kolisi (captain), 6 Cobus Wiese, 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg
Bench: 16 Ramone Samuels, 17 Caylib Oosthuizen, 18 Oli Kebble, 19 Chris van Zyl, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Dewaldt Duvenage, 22 Kurt Coleman, 23 Dan Kriel
Cheetahs:
15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Francois Venter (captain), 12 Niel Marais, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Henco Venter, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Francois Uys, 4 Armandt Koster, 3 Johan Coetzee, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Charles Marais
Bench: 16 Elandre Huggett, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Carl Wegner, 20 Niell Jordaan, 21 Tian Meyer, 22 Nico Lee, 23 Luther Obi