Cape Town - The Stormers are set to receive yet another heavy blow to their scrum ahead of a clash with the powerful Crusaders pack as hooker Tiaan Liebenberg is in doubt for Saturday’s match at Newlands.
Following the one-match suspension handed to loosehead prop Steven Kitshoff on Monday for a dangerous tackle against the Brumbies, the Stormers are set to lose Liebenberg - a strong scrummaging hooker - due to an elbow injury sustained at Newlands at the weekend.
Liebenberg made his first start of the season against the Brumbies, but left the field 10 minutes after halftime, and was replaced by Deon Fourie.
Stormers forwards coach Matthew Proudfoot told the Cape Times on Tuesday that Liebenberg had sat out of training for the second day in a row in Bellville, along with Gio Aplon, Duane Vermeulen, Andries Bekker, Jean de Villiers and “most of the senior guys who have had a lot of gametime were given time off”.
But he said that Aplon, who took a knock to the head against the Brumbies, and Liebenberg were the most serious injury concerns.
It is believed that Liebenberg will not be ready to play on Saturday.
“We will still see about Gio, and we will have a look at Tiaan to see how they are keeping up and come through. But we will give them as much time as they need,” Proudfoot said.
“Tiaan has a sore elbow, so we will have a look at how he handles it and how it goes. We will give everybody as much of a chance as possible (to be ready).”
It would be a huge setback to lose Liebenberg as he brings extra size and weight to the Stormers scrum that is sure to come under severe pressure from the All Black tight five of the Crusaders. With Kitshoff already out, it is a disruption that Allister Coetzee could do without if the Stormers pack hope to achieve parity in the scrums.
While Fourie is an energetic force around the field, especially in carrying the ball around the fringes, he lacks the size of Liebenberg, while his lineout-throwing is not as consistent as Liebenberg’s.
While Fourie had a good outing in that regard against the Chiefs recently, he struggled with his throwing earlier in the season, and again threw the ball over the Stormers lineout near the Brumbies’ 22 last weekend.
But the WP Currie Cup captain will definitely aid the Stormers at the breakdowns, which was a major problem area against the Brumbies.
George Smith and company slowed down and turned over Stormers possession all night long, and Proudfoot said that the team management will have a meeting with the referee for Saturday’s Crusaders game, Craig Joubert, to discuss the breakdowns.
“Our placement of the ball needs to improve, and the reaction of our cleaners needs to improve. Smith is one of the world’s best. We had a look at it, and there were a few things that weren’t as we wanted them to be. So, we will discuss it with the referee and ask his opinion,” he said.
“I haven’t seen Craig doing much Super Rugby lately - he’s been busy with the Six Nations. So, we will have a chat with him, because in the Six Nations, they allow a lot more of a contest for the ball. We will find out his parameters and discuss that with him. He is a competent referee and one of the world’s best, so we have to adapt to the way he sees it, and understand the way he sees it.”
With Kitshoff unavailable, Springbok Pat Cilliers is likely to wear the No 1 jersey, and Proudfoot is confident that Cilliers and tighthead Frans Malherbe will stand their ground in the scrums against All Black powerhouses Owen Franks and Wyatt Crockett.
“We’re fortunate that we can draft in a Springbok, but I think it’s going to be a fantastic challenge for the guys. The Crusaders are arguably the best scrummaging pack in the whole competition,” Proudfoot said.
“I think Pat has got a good engagement, and we’ve been working on that and equipping him with the skills to handle the challenge. It’s a big challenge against an All Black front row. It is a technical change for Pat.
“We’ve spent some time working on the technicalities and looking at what will be required. We don’t want to be conceding penalties at scrum-time, and it’s something that we’ve been working hard on.
“We’re taking advice on that constantly. We’ve been speaking to Pieter de Villiers, the Bok scrum coach, asking his advice, with the Mobi Unit at the Springboks. We’ve had John McFarland (Bok defence coach) here to help Deon with his throwing. So, we are constantly taking a lot of advice to improve our players, and not just being subjective and staring at the problem.
“We respect what Wyatt has done. We think he’s been incredible for the Crusaders as an experienced player. He has probably one of the best scrummaging hookers (Corey Flynn) next to him.”
Cape Times