Team comes first for Siya
KOLISI: ONLY A WIN AGAINST THE BULLS WILL DO AS FLANKER REACHES 100-MATCH MILESTONE
Fleck knows Stormers will have their work cut out against Bulls at Newlands today.
Stormers captain Siya Kolisi has stressed his personal milestone shouldn’t deter from the vital importance of their big north-south Super Rugby derby against the Bulls at Newlands this afternoon.
With both teams chasing the Lions and the Jaguares in the South African Conference, Kolisi will feature in his 100th Super Rugby game for the Capetonians, while close friend, replacement hooker Scarra Ntubeni will play his 50th.
“It’s very special to reach this mark, but most guys will tell you it’s all about the team and the most important thing for us is to win this game,” said Kolisi, who will wear special boots to mark the occasion. “We are very excited and if you’re not pumped for this kind of game you shouldn’t be here, but one of our aims remain to win Super Rugby.”
The Bulls have made massive strides under coach John Mitchell and Stormers coach Robbie Fleck said they were found wanting in their 33-23 defeat earlier at Loftus.
“The Bulls have shown massive improvement and it wasn’t that close for us the last time we played them,” said Fleck.
“The odds were against us playing with 14 men – after the yellow card to Pieter-Steph du Toit – but we are starting to find our feet again.”
The Stormers are specifically waiting for the rematch at scrum time after the Bulls put their Bok props Steven Kitshoff and Wilco Louw on the back foot.
But Fleck believes Bulls players like flankers Marco van Staden and Roelof Smit also killed their efforts on the ground last time out.
“They still have their strong traditional strengths like their maul which we will have to counter while their lineout have functioned well, but we believe we have made strides as well.
“Our last 20 minutes have let us down and against a side like the Bulls you have to play for 80 be- cause they keep coming at you like they did against the Highlanders.”
A big boost for the Stormers is the return of experienced players like flyhalf Jean-Luc du Plessis and prop Frans Malherbe after a long layoff.
“Jean-Luc and Frans had two games in the SuperSport Challenge. We feel that’s efficient game time for them, so it’s quite exciting to have experienced players like that back in the mix,” said Fleck. But he also spared a thought for Kolisi.
“It’s great for Siya and always exciting to see a Stormers player reaching that mark, he has been part of the Stormers family for a long time.
“I am immensely proud of what he has achieved and it will be a special occasion for him and his family. He is a special guy.” Kick-off: 3.05pm. Also see Page 42