Cape Town - Stormers coach Robbie Fleck has opted to hand the No 10 jersey to Robert du Preez instead of Brandon Thomson for Saturday’s Super Rugby quarter-final against the Chiefs at Newlands.
Du Preez has been out of the Stormers mix since injuring his knee against the Cheetahs in March, which saw him sidelined for three months.
Upon his return in June, the 22-year-old has had to be satisfied with a place in the Western Province side as Jean-Luc du Plessis established himself as the first-choice No 10 and Thomson as his back-up.
But on Thursday at Newlands, Fleck named Du Preez at pivot instead. “At the end of the day, we went with experience. Rob was the number-one choice at flyhalf at the beginning of the season and he actually played really well in those games against the Bulls and Cheetahs,” the coach said.
“He unfortunately got injured. But he also played for Dobbo in the Currie Cup semi-finals and final, and he just edged Thommo in terms of the experience. With Thommo, I feel that he’s played really well off the bench this year and he’s trained really well with the squad.
@THESTORMERS coach Robbie Fleck names his team @CapeTimesSA @TheCapeArgus @TheWeekendArgus @IOLsport #STOvCHI pic.twitter.com/vTDSt44oTV
— IndyCapeSport (@IndyCapeSport) July 21, 2016
“But just to take the pressure off him, I’ve felt that every time he’s come off the bench, he’s performed really well. It just boils down to experience at the end of the day, and Rob gets the nod. Rob has played really well for Province actually. He’s played three games and missed last week through illness. He’s really match-fit, but even though he hasn’t played Super Rugby for some time, he’s had game time (for WP).”
Fleck also chose to keep co-captain Frans Malherbe – who returns from a neck injury – on the bench, with Vincent Koch holding on to the No 3 jersey after a couple of impressive performances over the last three weeks. In addition, Oli Kebble comes back from a knee complaint, but Alistair Vermaak will be at No 1.
“Frans has been out for over three weeks. He missed the tour and last week’s game, and trained incredibly hard to get back to full fitness. It was a matter of easing him back into it. But Vince has played really well, and we wanted to select on momentum and the pack is going well. Frans will make that impact off the bench. Oli has also been out,” Fleck said.
The Stormers have gone with six forwards and just two backs on the bench, which was the same tactic they used to good effect against the Brumbies in the league stages. Fleck didn’t want to give away too much in that regard on Thursday, but it’s clear that the Cape side is hoping to continue the physical onslaught in what is likely to be slippery conditions at Newlands in the second half.
“It worked for us in the past. Yes, the weather plays a role and we are playing against an aggressive pack, and with the resources we’ve got available, it suits us,” Fleck added.
Saturday’s match kicks offs at 7pm, and the referee will be Jaco Peyper.
Stormers Team
15 Jaco Taute, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Schalk Burger (captain), 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Alistair Vermaak.
Bench: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 JD Schickerling, 20 Rynhardt Elstadt, 21 Nizaam Carr, 22 Louis Schreuder, 23 Brandon Thomson.
@ashfakmohamed
Independent Media