Rip-roaring clash of the top loosies

Trios of Stormers and Lions to battle it out

TWO of the most settled and envied South African loose-trio combos will faceoff when the Lions host the Stormers at Ellis Park today.

Lions loose forwards Warren Whiteley, Warwick Tecklenberg and Jaco Kriel have been the most dynamic threesome in the country in the past year.

Bar Whiteley, they may not have received the national honours they deserve, but their reward is in seeing the Lions steadily climb towards the peak of South African rugby.

The Stormers will counter them with a mix of Schalk Burger’s experience and a new breed of impressive young loose forwards, Nizaam Carr and Sikhumbuzo Notshe.

Such are the riches at Stormers coach Robbie Fleck’s disposal that he has found himself, like a kid with too many toys in the cot, in a sticky position come selection hour.

It couldn’t have been easy putting Springbok Siya Kolisi on the bench for today’s game.

Lions captain Whiteley expects a rip-roaring clash around the breakdown come the 7.15pm kick off. “If you look at the kind of players they have at the back of the scrum, our styles are similar. They like playing with a link man, usually Schalk or Nizaam. With Siya on the bench it makes them that much more dangerous.

“They are all fantastic players who can steal ball and play well on the ground, but they also link up with the backline, run with the ball and serve as good ball-carriers.”

Notshe has added more grey hair to Fleck’s already almost snow white head with his stellar performances whenever he’s been given a run in the starting XV.

What makes the King William’s Town-born Notshe such a threat is his ability to show up at the right place at the right time. It’s almost as if he’s merged Kolisi and Burger’s play books into his own style.

The Wynberg Boys’ High School old boy may not physically look like a traditional openside flanker, where he’ll play today, but his opponents should know by now that he latches on to the breakdown quicker than a chameleon’s tongue to a fly.

But, said Whiteley, the Lions have Kriel as their answer to anything the Stormers bring.

Their Currie Cup captain is undoubtedly one of the best counterattacking loose forwards, and best exponent of broken play in the competition.

And once the off-loads stick, he’ll be difficult to stop.

“Notshe has played fantastic rugby and we’ve seen that,” said Whiteley. “That said, I believe the three of us, myself, Warwick and Jaco can do what the Stormers do equally well. We get on the ground, link and we can carry. It’s going to be a nice tussle.

“Both sets of loose forwards have fantastic work-rates and it is a clash to look forward to.”

It’s all set up for another gladiatorial battle, such as the ones witnessed in the 19-all draw at Newlands and the 22-19 Stormers win at Ellis Park – games that eventually decided South Africa’s only representatives in last year’s playoffs.

“It is going to be a massive challenge for us. Both teams are playing with confidence and they’ve got a fantastic set piece and we know the dangers that their back three pose,” said Whiteley.

“They are a side that will take opportunities if you grant them. We will have to be at our best and we’ve prepared well.”