The Stormers have been rocked by another double injury blow. Stand-in captain and powerhouse No 8 Duane Vermeulen and dynamic wing Gio Aplon are both on their way back home from Australia, and there are fears that Vermeulen may be out for as long as three months.
Although there was no official confirmation from the Strormers camp on Sunday, it is believed that Vermeulen has a serious leg injury which could keep him out until the playoff stages of Super Rugby, while Aplon is believed to have suffered a hamstring strain that will sideline him for three weeks.
Vermeulen showed no signs of being injured in Friday’s highly impressive 23-13 victory over the Reds in Brisbane, and also completed his first post-match TV interview as the stand-in captain in place of the injured Jean de Villiers. But now he could once again miss out on Test rugby with the Springboks in their upcoming three-match series against England in June, and he may only return on the weekend of the playoffs on July 20.
Aplon, though, limped off the field in the second half and was later seen on TV with an ice-pack on his left hamstring, which coach Allister Coetzee initially suspected to be cramping in a telephone interview with the Cape Times after the match.
The Cape Times has learnt that Western Province Vodacom Cup flank Don Armand and centre Berton Klaasen will fly to Perth today to join the Stormers squad.
The expected absence of Vermeulen for the rest of the league stages and Aplon for at least the Force game and possibly the Newlands clash against the Cheetahs on May 12 will affect the Stormers’ approach as both play an integral part. Vermeulen’s physicality upfront and his strong lineout work will be a big loss for the Cape side. It will probably mean that Nick Koster will come in at the back of the scrum. While Koster was in good form earlier in the season, he is a very different type of player to Vermeulen, with his strengths based around his agility and handling skills.
Aplon’s injury is an even bigger dilemma as it robs the Stormers of one of their chief strike weapons on attack. Coetzee has two options – either bring in Danie Poolman in a straight swop at left wing, or hand exciting young centre JP du Plessis his starting debut at No 13 and move Bryan Habana back to No 11. Picking the fleet-footed Du Plessis would be the more positive selection, but Coetzee may opt for the experience of Poolman, who started eight matches at right wing last year.
Young lock Eben Etzebeth produced another outstanding performance against the Reds but went off with 20 minutes left with a sore shoulder. The coach added that the 20-year-old would be assessed at training today.
The only good news on the injury front is that star lock Andries Bekker is expected to play against the Force on Saturday, while young prop Steven Kitshoff, who is rapidly making a big name for himself, only had cramp in the Reds game and will be fit to play on Saturday. Bekker is also set to take over the captaincy.
“Andries’s progress has been good (with his lower-back injury). He is definitely available for selection for the Force game,” Coetzee said.
P W D L PD B P
Chiefs 8 7 0 1 60 3 35
Stormers 8 7 0 1 52 1 33
Brumbies 8 4 0 4 22 6 26
Bulls 8 6 0 2 99 5 33
Highlanders 8 6 0 2 22 2 30
Crusaders 8 5 0 3 43 4 28
Waratahs 8 4 0 4 11 5 25
Hurricanes 8 4 0 4 2 5 25
Sharks 9 4 0 5 –16 7 23
Reds 8 4 0 4 –63 1 21
Cheetahs 8 3 0 5 –11 5 21
Force 8 2 0 6 –31 5 17
Rebels 8 2 0 6 –87 2 14
Lions 7 1 0 6 –62 2 14
Blues 8 1 0 7 –41 4 12
PD = points difference – Cape Times