Fleck: Boys are pumped up
NOT even Hurricanes flyhalf Beauden Barrett’s potent wizardry and all the pressure that has piled on the Stormers after two dreadful defeats can steer Stormers coach Robbie Fleck away from his goal of growing his team’s attacking game.
Nope, the troops of the Stormers chief won’t creep back into their shells against the Hurricanes on Friday (kick-off 9.35)...come Barrett’s cross-kicks or a slippery ball due to less-than-ideal weather conditions..
Earlier in the week, Fleck made it as clear as can be that he wasn’t planning on retreating back to old ways, and speaking to the Cape Town media via teleconference yesterday, Fleck again said that they were going to stick to his (attacking rugby) guns.
“I said it earlier in the week that we’re not going to change where we’re heading in terms of our ambition to grow the team and in terms of how we want to play. The Hurricanes are a strong tactical outfit with Beauden Barrett and his kicking game. Obviously the conditions require us to be tactically smart and we’re going to have to make good decisions,” Fleck said.
After two harsh defeats to the Crusaders and the Highlanders, the Stormers now prepare to take on the Hurricanes in Wellington in their last game of their three-match tour to New Zealand, and despite being the obvious underdogs going into the clash, Fleck said that playing against the Kiwis on their own patch will be an ideal way to learn how to up their skill levels with ball in hand.
“We’re excited to go home and test what we’ve learnt. There’s no better place to learn than here. There’s been lots of positives from our side from this tour. A few of our weaknesses have been exposed, but that’s not a bad thing,” he said.
Fleck also added that his team was looking forward to the clash.
“It would be nice to end off on a high note. It’s a big challenge, but the boys are pumped for the game. Anything can happen on the day and we’ve prepared and worked as hard as we can. I feel that we’re going to come back a stronger outfit, a better outfit.”
Meanwhile, former Highlanders centre Shaun Treeby will make his first start for the Stormers at No 12 on Friday, while Dewaldt Duvenage will start at scrumhalf in the place of Jano Vermaak, who moves to the bench.
In the loose trio captain Siya Kolisi is back at blindside flank with Kobus van Dyk getting his first start on the openside, and Chris van Zyl returns from a week out with concussion to take his place in the second row alongside Jan de Klerk.
On the selection of Kobus van Dyk, Fleck said: “I feel that Siya and Notshe and Nemo (Nizaam Carr) all play a pretty similar game and they’re pretty effective with it. But we need someone who can do the dirty work for us and free up the likes of Siya and Nemo and those kinds of players.”
“He (Van Dyk) is also a great lineout option and he’s a hard-working player. He doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty and looking after the breakdowns. So he gives us that balance that we’re looking for in the loose trio. We need someone to secure us possession and do a lot of hard graft on the ground to release other players.”
In the front row props Wilco Louw and Alister Vermaak will make their first starting appearance together, while props Caylib Oosthuizen and Oli Kebble are new additions on the replacements bench, along with lock JD Schickerling, who will get his first opportunity for the Stormers this season should he take the field.
Fleck also said that while it was great to have centre Juan de Jongh and loose forward Rynhardt Elstadt back in the set-up, he added that it would have been too much of a push to play the duo on Friday, who returned from injury after being out for 16 and six weeks respectively.
“Rynhardt Elstadt only arrived here last night (Tuesday) and Juan de Jongh the night before. We wanted them over here because they do bring that valuable experience to a young squad and they also add injury cover.”
“For us to push them after not playing competitive rugby for a while could have been a risk. It’s great to have them here and it’s good that they can spend some time training with us. When we get back to Cape Town they can hit the ground running, they’ll know the set-up”