Cape Town - Star Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth is unlikely to play, while Nic Groom is definitely out of Friday’s Super Rugby clash against the Sunwolves at Newlands.
But the good news is that Cheslin Kolbe has recovered from a blow to the head, while Damian de Allende and Rynhardt Elstadt will make their first appearances of the season this weekend.
Etzebeth went down with a calf problem following a lineout practice at the Stormers’ training headquarters in Bellville on Monday afternoon, and was set to go for scans later in the day.
Stormers coach Robbie Fleck was reluctant to say whether the big Bok second-rower could be out for an extended period. “He may be out for this weekend, but I can only confirm that post his scans this evening. Look, I don’t know. I can only give you an answer once the medical staff get back to me, and I will only have that information at my disposal tomorrow,” he said.
“He is in really good form at the moment, he is enjoying his rugby. If the bye was perfect timing, this injury is not.
“He had his rest last week, and the bye week counts as a rest. The (Springboks) can play 15 games, but we have yet to see it all written in black and white. But the agreement at the moment is 15 games in total, that’s my understanding, and they can’t play more than five games in a row. But as I said, a bye week counts as a rest.”
But Etzebeth’s absence could see Elstadt being the lock cover on the bench, as Fleck confirmed that he is considering playing Elstadt in the second row as back-up to Pieter-Steph du Toit and JD Schickerling, who will start against the Sunwolves on Friday night (7pm kickoff), with Jan de Klerk out with a foot problem.
The coach said that he was not thinking of signing another lock from outside, as Jurie van Vuuren and Chris van Zyl were in the Western Province squad that will open their Currie Cup campaign against the Blue Bulls on Friday in the curtain-raiser to the Sunwolves game.
But 24-year-old midfielder De Allende may make his comeback off the bench after sitting out for four months with an ankle injury sustained on duty for Japanese club side Kintetsu Liners.
“When we were in Argentina, he was training with the Currie Cup side. He has worked incredibly hard to get back to full fitness. Again, we will look to manage him to get him back to his peak. And we have a responsibility with that, and he is going all right at the moment,” Fleck said.
“The most important thing for us is to manage Damian. Obviously he is a quality player for us and a star player for South Africa. But we have got a responsibility to manage him correctly and not put him under pressure.
“But when he is good to go, I think the rest of us will be quite happy about it. He is in the squad, so he is fit to play. We will see how he goes.”
Groom’s knee “swelled up” after the 13-8 victory over the Jaguares, and Fleck said that he had had an injection and would be out for nine days. That should see Louis Schreuder getting his first start of the season, with Godlen Masimla coming on to the bench.
@IndyCapeSport
Indepedent Media