Do you pick the starting Springbok tighthead prop who is coming off a three-week injury absence, or an in-form Bok who has been destroying the opposition during that period?
That is one of the selection quandaries facing Stormers coach Robbie Fleck ahead of Saturday’s Super Rugby quarter-final against the Chiefs at Newlands (7pm kickoff).
Fleck said on Monday at the team’s Bellville training headquarters that Oli Kebble, Frans Malherbe, Nizaam Carr and Daniel du Plessis have all recovered from their respective injuries and are available for selection to take on the Chiefs.
But whether all four of them will be in the starting line-up is another matter. Kebble is probably the most likely to return at loosehead prop after he missed the last two games with a knee issue, as he was in outstanding form before that and offers much more at No 1, with Alistair Vermaak more of a scrummager.
Malherbe has been getting over a neck problem which he picked up while on Springbok duty against Ireland, which has seen him sit out all three games since then against the Rebels, Force and Kings.
That has seen Vincent Koch take his chance to dominate the opposition in the scrums, while he has had a work-rate in the loose as well.
What complicates matters is the fact that Malherbe is a co-captain of the Stormers, and that he hasn’t been at his best in 2016. He battled especially during the three-Test series against Ireland, where he conceded penalties in the scrums and was often guilty of coming in from the side at the breakdowns.
Veteran Schalk Burger, though, has done well as the stand-in captain and appears to have galvanised the team with his experience and engaging demeanour.
And while Fleck has spoken of the need to develop younger leaders as Burger is joining Saracens at the end of the competition, but perhaps the right horse for Saturday’s course would be Burger in the high-pressure environment of a quarter-final against the two-time champions.
“I guess, isn’t that the position you want to be in, going into a playoff? In previous years, we’ve struggled to put a team together in the playoffs, and always lost some big players in the last week,” Fleck said on Monday.
“For the first time in a long time, we’ve got a good squad to select from, and there is competition for places and the players have known that for some time. We are in a great position with all those guys returning this week. The only concern I do have is the amount of game time those injured players have had over the last couple of weeks.
“The guys who have been playing well as of late, it’s obviously in their favour. What I like about it is that we have a full squad basically to select from, apart from the long-term injuries.
“We’ve got to make some tough decisions as a coaching staff, and the team all respect the situation we are in. They all want to play, but they all understand that we have to do what’s best for the team going forward and they appreciate that.”
The coach added that all players who played less than four league games are all eligible for the playoffs, but that the Stormers are still awaiting confirmation on fullback Scott van Breda, who wasn’t part of the original squad for the season.
But at least the likes of Jaco Taute, Jean Kleyn, Daniel du Plessis and JP Smith have all been cleared to play.
Flyhalf Jean-Luc du Plessis is definitely out of the Chiefs game, and is likely to be out for four months with an ankle injury, but Fleck said he was still awaiting a report from a specialist.
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