DHL Stormers coach Allister Coetzee has made few changes to the squad that lost their opening match against the Bulls last weekend.
Jaco Taute is omitted as a precautionary measure, which sees Joe Pietersen start at No 15, with Frans Malherbe rotating off the bench to start at No 3. Pat Cilliers moves to the bench and Louis Schreuder comes onto the bench at the expense of Dewaldt Duvenage.
Juan de Jongh is close to match readiness but will not be risked this weekend. Similarly with Tiaan Liebenberg, who trained with the team today but will probably come into contention for selection against the Chiefs.
Peter Grant starts on the bench after his return from Japan last week.
The DHL Stormers team to take on the Sharks is as follows:
15. Joe Pietersen
14. Gio Aplon
13. Jean de Villiers (Captain)
12. Damian de Allende
11. Bryan Habana
10. Elton Jantjies
9. Nic Groom
8. Duane Vermeulen (Vice-captain)
7. Rynhardt Elstadt
6. Siya Kolisi
5. Andries Bekker
4. De Kock Steenkamp
3. Frans Malherbe
2. Deon Fourie
1. Steven Kitshoff
Replacements:
16. Martin Bezuidenhout
17. Pat Cilliers
18. Don Armand
19. Nizaam Carr
20. Louis Schreuder
21. Peter Grant
22. Gerhard van den Heever
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan
Good side for the Stormers, as always… just think the Sharks side is a bit more settled at present
it doesnt matter…Stormers are still gonna lose..only not by so much this time as they will kick all their penalties over.
Also…they gonna be playing against 16 men….Kaplan isnt a fan of the Stormers.
It’s hard to get a real sense of how they are thinking. It’s a press conference situation so the answers are pretty much PC sanitized versions of “it’s a team sport, we are all disappointed, we have been working on our systems etc etc”.
Elton spent most of the practice with the kicking coach and Allister did say that they have not yet decided who will take the kicks at goal.
It’s a long competition so getting the systems right is important I suppose….
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer was at the training session.
@ fayaaz:
Ahhhh so the excuses are coming in early?
Sharks_forever wrote:
nah no excuses lol..im calling it like it is. im a Saders supporter
@Stormersboy – i agree on implementing the systems..but surely that was the plan last season as well? how long does it take to perfect the system – or at least getting it to work properly?
5 @ Sharks_forever:
Lykmy die Sharks is weer sterker as Brandewyn en meer windgat as…. wel, Sharks Supporters….
Don’t count your chickens till they’ve hatched.
Last time you Tjarks okes counted chickens too early was the last time these 2 sides played… and the Sharks were frommelled stukkend last time…. opgeflok, moertoe…. druipstert huistoe!
@ grootblousmile:
Uhm???? please explain where i was windgat or counted any chickens before they hatched??
I merely told the man that he was making excuses already as he said the Sharks would be assisted by Kaplan??
If that is being cocky?, counting chickens? or being windgaat?? ya swaer, se maar niks.
@ fayaaz:
I take that back, of course Sharks could win but only with the help of the 16thman and ref Kaplan who hates the Stormers and will help the Sharks to win, make no mistake the Sharks are not good enough to win, they only win with a cheating Ref.
8 @ Sharks_forever:
Making excuses infers a loss…. and the Stormers have not lost the game yet.
So, counting chickens, yes, definately!
Stormers have a chance, as they always do. I suspect that they will come out a lot stronger, whether that will be enough remains to be seen. This is a home game for the Sharks so they must obviously be favorites, but the bounce of the ball can be a strange thing, as Mvovo found out last weekend.
sharky @ 5
also think the stormers will be bullied this weekend.
@ grootblousmile:
No it does not, it merely shows that blamming a ref in advance is a form of an excuse for if and when something is won or lost.
@ Ashley:
Ash i never said that or implied that boet.
13 @ Sharks_forever:
Relax, your Tjarks are the favourites… and I will pick them on Bru for the weekend.
You nervous?
Hehehehe
Sharks_forever wrote:
sjoe – where did this come from lol.
even without Kaplan the Sharks will still win..i merely meant that the Stormers will now have a harder time with Kaplan blowing the game.
or was this lil rant for GBS to show that you aren’t counting your chickens. lol.
@ grootblousmile:
Nope actually i have the Stormers to win, my gut feel is they will not play as poorly as last weekend. their team is strengthend with a better TH.
But hey if Kaplan helps us enough we could possibly pull this off 😆
@ fayaaz:
Damn you stormer crusaders go through a lot of effort 😆
16 @ fayaaz:
Will be interesting to see how the Crusaders go… they basically had 2 extra weeks to prepare, having had a Bye weekend last week.
So, are they going to be fully charged for their 1st Super Rugby game of the season or a bit undercooked against a resurgent Blues side?
Give us your view, Sader!
sharky @ 14
i was actually just agreeing with fayaaz @ 2
The stoic defence oriented game of the Stormers vs the more attack oriented game plan of the Sharks.
I really feel for young Elton, as he thrives when given the carte blanche to attack. Lambie must have felt the same on the EOYT. He is also a player that likes to play whats in front of him.
One silver lining in the dark cloud of Jantjies playing for the Stormers, is that he will have developed a kicking game in time for the Currie Cup.
Sharks_forever wrote:
LOL
20 @ Ashley:
Hey, hello Asblik, bak, bok, hok… fok…
Hello jou Kokkelok!
gbs @ 19
a bit undercooked (i think) … thats why i found you picking them as clear fav against the blues a bit surprising … looking forward to this game though, with all the talk out of the crusaders camp that they’ll be taking their running game to a new level!!
gbs @ 23
“Hello jou Kokkelok!”
..
jy sound gay
but
hello to you too!!
grootblousmile wrote:
im really keen to see how we go as well TBH. once again we go into this tourney as favourites lol
this year though we are missing the talismanic leadership of McCaw but have just as good a replacement in Read.
I was a bit worried about the wings situation- Izzy Dagg is good on the wing…but way way better at FB, Tom Taylor is safe under the highball and had a good season in ITM cup at FB, but he lacks the vision of Dagg. Adam Whitelock is also another safe option on the opposite win and has a good work rate.
up front i doubt we will have problems with the licks of Read, Todd, the Whitelock brothers etc. we all know its a very strong pack! Matt Todd is the only non All Black in the forwards (and i sincerely hope that changes this year!).
i reckon it will be a good game. The Blues are at home and are coming off a big win but expect to see the experience of the Red and Blacks come through. A lot of the Blues Players haven’t played against the Crusaders in SuperRugby before so it will be good to see how they handle that.
25 @ Ashley:
Hey, ek sound net gay soos in die ou dae toe gay nog happy en vrolik beteken het… niks meer of minder nie!
gbs @ 27
huh-uh
jy’t da’em baie pap-handjierig geklink daa’so!!
28 @ Ashley:
Djy vistaan nie!
Jinne, djulle is oek ‘n heel anner nasie, julle Boelanders… vistaan ok net wa julle wil, en bokkoms met die res!
My pa’t my geleer om met sterk hande, hande te skud, nie met daai pap-snoek gedoentes soos daai lotte in Seapoint nie!
26 @ fayaaz:
There’s far too many WHITElock brothers in the Crusaders side for you Cape okes to still support the Saders, man!
Get over it and support Proudly South African…. even if you support the Stormpoppies.
Geez, I almost said even if you support the Kings… but that would have taken it a bit too far, right!
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