• Fixtures
• Results

Stormers: No going off the boil

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 12:52

The Stormers have made only one change to their starting XV for their game against the Brumbies at Newlands on Friday and that change is, as expected, to replace injured skipper Schalk Burger.

Pieter Louw, who replaced Burger in the 23rd minute of the Stormers' match against the Waratahs last weekend, gets a start in the number six jersey after his impressive performance off the bench.

Burger's hamstring injury has been diagnosed as a grade one tear and the initial prognosis is that he is likely to be out of rugby for 10 to 14 days.

Coach Allister Coetzee said Burger would be carefully managed since it was important to stop it developing into a chronic injury in a long season in which the Stormers were very keen to have their captain available through the year.

Andries Bekker takes over the captaincy from Burger, as he has done with aplomb a few times this season already.

Openside flank Pieter Myburgh takes up the spot on the bench vacated by Louw and will be eager to get his first taste of Super 14 rugby this season.

The 26-year-old Louw will play in only his seventh Super 14 game after his debut against the Hurricanes in 2009, but his rugby pedigree is good - 52 caps for Western Province after representing South African Schools, SA U19 and SA U21.

Pieter Myburgh (24) will earn his sixth Super 14 cap if he comes on as a replacement.

Speaking at the team announcement on Tuesday, Coetzee said that while he was really pleased with his team's performance against the Waratahs - "if you see a defensive effort like that how can you be unhappy?" - they had "turned the ball over too many times". This had been a let-off in pressure for the opposition and they could have scored more than three tries.

But bonus points would come with confidence and "we want to make sure we're fostering a winning culture". The team were looking forward to playing in front of 40,000 people on Friday.

The Stormers would again this week try to be "ruthless on defence".

"We understand that defensive sides will hardly steal a ball any longer, so we back our defence and make sure we get out and get our numbers right. Only when we have positive hits do we look to steal the ball. It's the advantage line battle that's going to be crucial for us."

"We stick to our systems," said Coetzee. The team had been a "working slightly out of the system" in the first 10 minutes against the Waratahs but had communicated well on the field and had reverted to their system after the initial lapse.

Retaining possession through phases was crucial. "We want to try to tackle less this week and hold onto the ball more," said Coetzee.

He said the team were also working hard on discipline and trying to concede fewer penalties.

The Brumbies were a quality side with good set piece and were especially good at contesting line-outs. He described Matt Giteau as "a brilliant match-winner" and the presence of the very experienced Stirling Mortlock and a few other Wallabies made them a very dangerous side.

They would pose different challenges to the Waratahs, said Coetzee, and "we can't afford to be off the boil".

They were a team with players who had "great evasion skills and who run good lines" and players like Giteau and Adam Ashley-Cooper were "great runners with ball in hand".

He said Giteau was a key man in their side with his control and direction and pin-point left boot. But there was no specific focus on countering Giteau as an individual since strategy embraced planning to play against a whole team.

He described Rocky Elsom as an outstanding player particularly for his physicality and his prowess as a ball-carrier. He was a good line-out option for the Brumbies and was good at contesting opposition line-outs. "He's a complete player," said Coetzee.

Pieter Louw said he viewed it as a privilege to be playing on Saturday but the game was about the team, not individuals, and he enjoyed being part of the happy spirit in the Stormers team. He felt is was "awesome" to be able to measure oneself against world-class players.

Wicus Blaauw was recovering well from his shoulder injury but Coetzee said he felt JC Kritzinger had played very well at loosehead against the Lions and Waratahs and when Blaauw returned, "it might not be an automatic selection [for him to replace Kritzinger]".

Stormers: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Juan de Jongh, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Pieter Louw, 5 Andries Bekker (captain), 4 De Kock Steenkamp, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 JC Kritzinger.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Eusebio Guinazu, 18 Anton van Zyl, 19 Pieter Myburgh, 20 Dewaldt Duvenage, 21 Lionel Cronje, 22 Sireli Naqelevuki.

Date: Friday, February 26
Venue: Newlands, Cape Town
Kick-off: 19.10 (17.10 GMT; 04.10 AEDT, Saturday February 27)
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Pro Legoete (South Africa), Cobus Wessels (South Africa)
TMO: Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)

By Len Kaplan

Contact Us | Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy | Advertising

This site requires cookies to be enabled!

Send Feedback on Rugby365!

News | Tournaments | SA Schools

Copyright © 2009 Primedia Online. All rights reserved. Developed by Primedia Online