Chance for youngsters to shine

ADDING something new to a team can do great things, especially if that something new is young players who can not only add some depth to a side, but who can also bring the best out of senior players.

By ‘bring the best’ out of the senior players this means pushing them out of their comfort zones and showing that there’s someone hunting their spot in the team. In this case, the Stormers team.

And it’s something that Stormers coach Robbie Fleck is really excited about.

This year, the Cape side have included some promising youngsters in their squad for their massive pre-season victories against the Cheetahs and the South Western District Eagles, and for their last warm-up game against the Lions tomorrow, Fleck has again included a few juniors for the Newlands fixture (kick-off 3pm) that will feature rolling substitutions.

The 30-man squad boast a mixture of experienced Super Rugby campaigners and young talent, and the Stormers are definitely in a better place than they were last year, where they struggled with depth in certain positions.

“I think the exciting part about this squad is that there are a lot of youngster and they’re pushing hard for places and that’s pushing the senior players. From a management point I’d like to think that we know what we want, but with some of these kids putting up their hands it’s great for us to have a look at our options. What’s coming through is extremely exciting,” Fleck said

And while Fleck’s biggest goal will be to scout his combinations, and the fact that the results of pre-season games are normally not regarded as very significant, the Stormers boss wants to build on the strong performances and results his team produced in their first two warm-ups.

“I think that winning is important (in the pre-season games as well) and I think that shows in the Lions team that are coming down here. That’s been our mission throughout the pre-season games. We’ve played well in the last two games and it’s important that we keep that up”