Stormers: Who will wear the No.6 jersey?

The Stormers have struggled with their back row configuration in recent years and De Wit's signing was seen as a solution to the problem.

Director of Rugby Gert Smal described De Wit, who joined from the Lions, as "a genuine openside flank who plays towards the ball", which is something the Stormers have been sorely missing amongst their loose forwards.

The Stormers have tried a number of players in the No.6 jersey recently, with no one really stamping their authority in the position.  At times, it even seemed that the brains trust were pulling names out of a hat to formulate the back row.

And with De Wit set to be out for a lengthy period, the Stormers will be hoping that one of their remaining loose forwards will be up to the task in that openside role this year.

"I have been told Siya [Siyamthanda Kolisi] has played there before and Nizaam Carr has played there at international level, so they aren't bad," skills coach Paul Feeney told reporters at the team's base in Bellville. "I don't think you ever get the finished product in a player."

"Steph [De Wit] is out and that was unfortunate, so if [head coach] Robbie [Fleck] is looking at Nizaam and Siya or whether he is looking to bring someone else in, it is up to us as coaches to see where they need help and then put a bit more emphasis on some of their skill work in relation to that – that extra work that they need to put in to make sure that they are up to speed with that.

"Rynhardt [Elstadt] has played openside for the Stormers a bit, so I think there are options there for Robbie. He talks more about that with Russell [Winter], who looks after the forwards."

Meanwhile, the Stormers will play their first pre-season match against the Cheetahs in Zimbabwe on Saturday and Feeney said the final score will not be important.

"It is not about winning this game – it is our first hit-out in the season," Feeney added.

"We've got a few key areas that we worked hard on, so we want to see how they go in this first full hit-out and we will analyse ourselves based on what goals we set and what we want.

"It [result] doesn't matter. It is what we want to get out of it and be able to take two or three steps forward. We don't want to get out of this and say we have gone back two steps." 

By Warren Fortune

@FortuneWarren

@rugby365com