Rugby news from Western Province:
Van Zyl in line for DHL Stormers debut:
Lock Chris van Zyl will make his DHL Stormers debut if he comes off the replacements bench in the Vodacom Super Rugby clash with the Southern Kings at DHL Newlands on Saturday.
The hard-working Van Zyl has shown great form as captain of DHL Western Province this season, and is joined on the replacements bench by prop JC Janse van Rensburg and scrumhalf Jano Vermaak who both make a return from injury.
Huw Jones will start his first match of the season at outside centre in place of Daniel du Plessis who has been ruled out with concussion, and the only other change in the backline sees scrumhalf Louis Schreuder come into the starting line-up for Nic Groom who is being rested.
In the forward pack DHL Stormers half-centurion Rynhardt Elstadt starts at flank with Siya Kolisi set to provide impact off the replacements bench, Scarra Ntubeni comes in at hooker, and there are two new locks in JD Schickerling and Jean Kleyn, with Pieter-Steph du Toit and Eben Etzebeth being rested.
As winners of Africa Conference One, the DHL Stormers will be presented with their conference trophy after the clash with the Southern Kings, which kicks off at 17h05 on Saturday, but Head Coach Robbie Fleck said that their focus is solely on gaining as much momentum as possible ahead of the knock-out phase of the competition.
“It is great that we have won our conference before the last game of the regular season, but that does not mean we will compromise on intensity against the Southern Kings this weekend.
“We need to play our best rugby in order to take some meaningful momentum into the play-offs, so this is a vital match for us,” said Fleck.
DHL Stormers: 15 Jaco Taute, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Schalk Burger (captain), 7 Rynhardt Elstadt, 6 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Alistair Vermaak.
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 JC Janse van Rensburg, 18 JP Smith, 19 Chris van Zyl, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Jano Vermaak, 22 Brandon Thomson, 23 Scott van Breda.
Momentum key for DHL Stormers:
Although they have already secured a home Vodacom Super Rugby quarterfinal, the DHL Stormers will be going all-out to gain as much momentum as possible in their clash with the Southern Kings at DHL Newlands on Saturday.
The full-house of 10 log points the DHL Stormers claimed on their two-match tour of Australia with bonus-point wins against the Rebels and the Force saw them claim top honours in the Africa Conference One.
They will be presented with their conference trophy after the match against the Southern Kings at DHL Newlands on Saturday, but before the celebrations can begin there is some hard work to be done.
Head Coach Robbie Fleck said that while star locks Eben Etezebeth and Pieter-Steph du Toit will not be in action as per the Springbok resting plan, he will pick his strongest available side in an effort to take some meaningful momentum into the knock-out phase of the competition.
“With Pieter-Steph du Toit and Eben Etzebeth it is part of the Bok resting plan, but everyone else who is fit and able will be up for selection this week.
“We want to select the strongest side possible going into this weekend. For us it is all about continuing the momentum from the tour and we want to get that momentum going again this weekend,” he said.
Fleck explained that he has learned from the past when the team surrendered key momentum heading into the play-offs in the interests of player management.
“From past campaigns where we have won the conference prior to the last game, we have gone into that game with a plan to rest some players and it hasn’t worked in our favour.
“Hopefully we learning from those lessons in the past, so we want to play our strongest side possible this weekend and play at an intensity of quarterfinals, semifinals and finals,” he explained.
For Fleck, this week in the build-up to the Southern Kings game is vital in terms of perparing the squad for the quarterfinal and ensuring that they are at their best in the knock-out phase of the competition.
“What we have learned from the past is that this week is more crucial than the quarterfinal week in the sense of our preparation.
“If we take our foot off the pedal this week then we are not going to do well next week. The lessons are that this week is extremely crucial in terms of our preparations and our attitude,” he said.
Fleck has challenged his team to lift the intensity and find an extra gear against the Southern Kings to finish the regular season with a morale-boosting win.
“Momentum is everything for us, we need to find an intensity that we haven’t had this season, so it is actually an extremely crucial game for us.
“We want to play at another level this weekend, we want to play at a different intensity that we haven’t had this season yet and that has got to be the key focus for us.
“If there is any eye on the quarterfinals it is about the intensity we play with this weekend.
“The Kings are a side that has been in the mix with most teams at half-time, so we need to repect the opposition, but it is not about them, it is about us and our preparation,” he added.
Peyper to referee DHL Stormers v Kings:
South African referee Jaco Peyper will oversee the Vodacom Super Rugby clash between the DHL Stormers and the southern Kings at DHL Newlands on Saturday.
The assistant referees are Quinton Immelman and Rodney Bonaparte, and the TMO is Shaun Veldsman.
Vodacom Super Rugby, Round 17 match officials:
Friday, 15 July
Blues v Waratahs
(Eden Park, Auckland – Kick-Off: 19h35; 09h35 SA time)
Referee: Mike Fraser
Assistant referees: Brendon Pickerill, Kane McBride
TMO: Ben Skeen
Reds v Rebels
(Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane – Kick-Off: 19h45; 11h45 SA time)
Referee: Will Houston
Assistant referees: Andrew Lees, Amy Perrett
TMO: George Ayoub
Cell C Sharks v Sunwolves
(Growthpoint Kings Park, Durban – Kick-Off: 19h00)
Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge
Assistant referees: Cwengile Jadezweni, Archie Sehlako
TMO: Marius Jonker
Saturday, 16 July
Crusaders v Hurricanes
(AMI Stadium, Christchurch – Kick-Off: 17h15; 07h15 SA time)
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe
Assistant referees: Mike Fraser, Brendon Pickerill
TMO: Glenn Newman
Highlanders v Chiefs
(Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin – Kick-Off: 19h35; 09h35 SA time)
Referee: Glen Jackson
Assistant referees: Nick Briant, Jamie Nutbrown
TMO: Chris Wratt
Brumbies v Force
(GIO Stadium, Canberra – Kick-Off: 19h45; 11h45 SA time)
Referee: Paul Williams
Assistant referees: Nic Berry, Ed Martin
TMO: Damien Mitchelmore
DHL Stormers v Southern Kings
(DHL Newlands, Cape Town – Kick-Off: 17h05)
Referee: Jaco Peyper
Assistant referees: Quinton Immelman, Rodney Bonaparte
TMO: Shaun Veldsman
Toyota Cheetahs v Vodacom Bulls
(Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein – Kick-Off: 19h15)
Referee: Craig Joubert
Assistant referees: AJ Jacobs, Lourens van der Merwe
TMO: Johan Greeff
Jaguares v Emirates Lions
(Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires – Kick-Off: 18h40; 23h40 SA time)
Referee: Rohan Hoffmann
Assistant referees: Angus Gardner, Federico Anselmi
TMO: Santiago Borsani
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