Fleck faces a quandary over Kitshoff selection

STORMERS coach Robbie Fleck says he will have to “weigh up” his options regarding Springbok prop Steven Kitshoff.

Kitshoff, who featured for the Boks in their 3-0 series whitewash over France, is available for the last three rounds of Super Rugby, but Fleck isn’t sure about his role going into the play-offs just yet.

Kitshoff falls short of the minimum number of games required for a player who was not part of a squad at the start of the season, which makes his participation in the play-offs unlikely.

Fleck also has to decide whether to use Kitshoff against the Cheetahs on Saturday to field “the best team to win”, or to build continuity with his current players.

Kitshoff ’s current form will make the situation especially difficult for Fleck, and with Oli Kebble out injured and Alistair Vermaak (calf strain) in doubt for Saturday’s match, Kitshoff can be a huge asset.

“He is available this week but at this point he isn’t available for the quarter-final, semi-final and final so we’d have to look at it and weigh it up,” Fleck said.

“There are ways a player in his position can be included. For instance, if there are too many injuries in one position and you are down to players who don’t have Super Rugby experience, then you can apply for the player to be cleared. But we have to weigh up the need to field the best team to win in Bloemfontein with other considerations relating to the play-offs.”

Other returning players include Rynhardt Elstadt, JC Janse van Rensburg and Dan Kriel, while Fleck confirmed that hooker Scarra Ntubeni was back at training, but not ready for selection, while Dan du Plessis (who dislocated his shoulder against the SWD Eagles at the weekend) and Damian de Allende are still out.

Fleck added that their 22-10 defeat to the Sharks was still in the back of his mind as they prepare for their fixture in Bloemfontein.

“It’s still lingering there, but we have to move on. We let ourselves down with that performance against the Sharks. We weren’t happy with it, but we’ve had a good few weeks,” Fleck said

“All our guys have come back nice and energised, and it was important that we trained extremely hard while the other guys were on Test duty. The spirit in the team is good.

“It’s about pushing the reset button now and about getting going with the next part of our campaign.”

And although Fleck was optimistic about the spirit in his camp, he wasn’t expecting a picnic in the Free State – despite the fact that his team thrashed the Cheetahs 53-10 earlier this season.

“They are a different team at the back-end of the competition. There will certainly be a lot of motivation there,” Fleck said. “A number of their players represented the SA ‘A’ and the Boks, and I think that Franco (Smith) will also take heart out of the Bok performances.”