Western Province may be without Nizaam Carr for their Currie Cup opener against the Blue Bulls at Loftus on Friday.
Two-cap Springbok loose forward Carr picked up a shoulder injury while on Super Rugby duty for the Stormers, and has a “50-50” chance of running out in Pretoria (), according to WP coach John Dobson.
Carr may be a candidate to the full-time Province captain for the competition in the absence of Juan de Jongh (Springbok Sevens) and Frans Malherbe (neck injury, out for three months), while Schalk Burger has joined Saracens in England.
The 25-year-old has led the Stormers and WP in the past, most notably for a lengthy period during the 2014 Currie Cup-winning season when De Jongh was injured.
The classy Carr will finally get a chance to settle at the back of the scrum as well as first Duane Vermeulen and this year Burger stood in his way of being the first-choice No 8.
That situation has probably hampered his chances of Springbok selection as well, as he has now fallen behind his teammate Sikhumbuzo Notshe in the national pecking order after the latter was called up for the June series against Ireland and the training camp that started in Stellenbosch on Monday.
Carr was forced to alternate between No 8 and openside flank during the Super Rugby season as coach Robbie Fleck regularly rotated his loose forwards to give enough game time to the likes of Burger, Notshe, Carr and Siya Kolisi.
But Dobson announced on Monday at the WP training base in Bellville that lock Chris van Zyl – younger brother of ex-skipper Anton – will lead Province in Friday’s game against the Bulls.
“The truth is, in all likelihood (that Van Zyl will be the captain for the season). But we took a deliberate view that we had to plan for this game as if the Stormers are in the final. We will go to Loftus with the qualifying team – which won’t be the case because the Stormers are now available – but the systems and the leadership will (be utilised),” Dobson said.
“Next week we are on a bye and will go on camp, and then on camp we will choose our full leadership. We will do what we can at Loftus, where Chris will be the captain, and we will reassess afterwards. This was always the plan.”
But due to the Stormers losing their Super Rugby quarter-final against the Chiefs on July 23, most of those players who are have not gone overseas or made the Sevens or Springbok squad will be available.
Lock Jean Kleyn will be available for the Bulls game before joining Munster in Ireland, but Burger (Saracens), Nic Groom (Northampton), Louis Schreuder (Kubota Spears in Japan) and Vincent Koch (Pumas/Springboks) won’t feature for WP.
But Dobson agreed that he does have “a nice team” to take to Loftus, with the likes of front-rankers Oli Kebble, Alistair Vermaak, Bongi Mbonambi, Scarra Ntubeni, Wilco Louw and Rynhardt Elstadt in the pack, with a virtual Super Rugby backline of Jano Vermaak, Robert du Preez, Dan du Plessis, Huw Jones, Leolin Zas, Kobus van Wyk and Jaco Taute.
But they didn’t have much of a break after the Stormers season ended, which will make the Bulls favourites. “I don’t want to make excuses, but Nollis Marais should go and work for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton if he can claim the underdog tag in this one! He would be a spin-master of note,” Dobson quipped.
“We had a hard time and lost at Loftus in Super Rugby, and we’ve given away a whole pack of forwards to a host of things. They haven’t given away nearly as much to the national team, so it is going to be tough. That’s why we want to pick ourselves up for one big game and reassess next week – put everything into this.”
The WP Rugby Union also confirmed the coaching staff for the Currie Cup, Under-21 and Under-19 teams, with veteran coach Jerome Paarwater taking over the Under-21 reins from Fleck, and Nazeem Adams continuing in the Under-19 role.
Stormers coach Robbie Fleck is expected to travel to various countries to pick up latest trends and visit top-level coaches over the next few months, including England boss Eddie Jones.
WP Coaching Teams
Currie Cup – Head coach: John Dobson. Assistants: Russell Winter (forwards), Dawie Snyman (backs), defence: Paul Treu, defence assistant: Norman Laker, fitness and conditioning: Steph du Toit.
Under-21 – Head coach: Jerome Paarwater. Assistants: Hanyani Shimange (forwards), Chris Rossouw (backs), defence: Anton Moolman, fitness and conditioning: Riefaat Jappie.
Under-19 – Head coach: Nazeem Adams. Assistant: Rito Hlungwani (forwards), defence: Chris October, strength and conditioning: Johan van Wyk.
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