Tall order to beat Bulls now

INLSA

De Kock Steenkamp reaches out for a lineout ball during Stormers training yesterday. Coach Allister Coetzee believes Steenkamp will bring a lot of energy to the pack against the Bulls. Photo: Courtney Africa

Ashfak Mohamed

ANDRIES BEKKER will not get the chance to prove that he is the new lineout king of South African rugby at Loftus on Saturday, but Stormers coach Allister Coetzee believes that De Kock Steenkamp will bring a “lot of energy and physicality” to the side for the derby against the Bulls.

Bekker was a shock withdrawal from the Stormers side yesterday with a lower-back injury that has also ruled him out of the Springboks’ three-Test series against England, as he won’t be able to play for at least the next five weeks.

Fullback Joe Pietersen is suffering from a back injury as well, which hasn’t healed sufficiently for him to face the Bulls either. Gio Aplon will continue in the No 15 jersey on Saturday, while Coetzee swopped Brok Harris for Frans Malherbe at tighthead prop as a “fresh” Harris will cover loosehead prop from the bench.

Deon Carstens comes in at No 1 for SA Under-20 front-rower Steven Kitshoff, and Siya Kolisi’s shoulder feels good enough for him to replace Deon Fourie at No 6.

But it is Bekker’s injury that has rocked the Stormers pack. He was expected to lead the lineout against his main rival for the Springbok No 5 jersey, the Bulls’ Juandré Kruger. His back has been troubling him for most of the season, but although he’s featured in 10 out of 12 matches, Coetzee was adamant that he was not played into the ground as in previous seasons.

“According to our medical team, he will be reassessed in five weeks’ time. It is a carryover from Saturday (Sharks game). We have been managing Andries throughout the season, as you know that he’s had a back operation last year. After the Crusaders game, he did his back again there, and we have tried to manage Andries,” the coach said after practice in Bellville yesterday.

“Andries would be the first to say that he couldn’t have been managed better. We’ve been looking at his time spent on his feet, the pounding as a player has been monitored carefully and scientifically as well. You will notice that Andries hasn’t played a full 80 minutes this season, although he could’ve.”

Coetzee said that Bekker, who played the last of his 24 Tests in July 2010 against the All Blacks in Wellington due to all his injuries, is likely to have lingering problems due to his 2.08m frame. “We are at a point where he can’t cope with the workload, and it is to be understood. With a tall guy like that, of which the lineout work is his specialist position – what they call the pounding on his feet is a contributing factor to it. And that foot contact is rather severe, so that is why there is a problem with his back again, it has played up again,” he said.

“He will be back this season, and the medical team’s first impressions are that it will definitely take five weeks, because they did the same thing in the pre-season with Andries. They did the same thing, and Andries could sustain almost 10 from 12 games with the way we’ve managed him.”

Steenkamp has played a minor role in the Stormers’ campaign, but ran the Western Province lineout in the Currie Cup last year and has made an impact every time he’s played Super Rugby in 2012.

“De Kock has played at this level before, and been to Loftus before and also managed the lineout for us before. It is a great opportunity for De Kock,” Coetzee said.

“I’m really excited to see how he will go, and I’ve got no doubt in my mind that he will bring a lot of energy into the team and pack, and a lot of physicality as well. That’s why he is a Stormer, that’s why he is in the mix.” Coetzee felt that there was enough cover in the lineout jumping department with Steenkamp, Eben Etzebeth and Rynhardt Elstadt.

Captain Jean de Villiers didn’t train yesterday again due to a bout of flu, but the coach insisted that the Bok centre would lead the Stormers out on to Loftus.

STORMERS TEAM

15 Gio Aplon, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jean de Villiers (capt), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Jebb Sinclair, 7 Rynhardt Elstadt, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 De Kock Steenkamp, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Deon Carstens. Bench: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Quinn Roux, 19 Don Armand, 20 Nick Fenton-Wells, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Burton Francis.