TO START AT FLYHALF FOR STORMERS
Injury-hit Stormers opt for a makeshift pivot
DILLYN Leyds is set to start at flyhalf in Super Rugby for the first time when the Stormers meet the Blues at Newlands on Friday.
Long-term injuries to the Stormers’ three first-choice flyhalfs – Jean-Luc du Plessis‚ Rob du Preez and Kurt Coleman – have left coach Robbie Fleck pondering his options on the back of a four-match losing streak.
But Fleck seems intent on using Leyds at 10 – a position he filled on tour when Du Preez and Coleman were injured during games.
The in-form wing has played junior rugby at flyhalf‚ but this will be a tough test of his ability to control a match.
“We have Dillyn and we have recalled Brandon Thomson from the Western Province side and we also have Joe Pietersen available to us‚” Fleck said.
“Dillyn has done the job on tour and we will look to play him there this weekend.
“It’s not easy going into a game with a makeshift 10‚ but Dillyn has been running the plays on tour and knows our patterns and systems best so in that sense it’s OK.”
Fleck also revealed that Bok centres Damian de Allende and Juan de Jongh were fit and available for selection after overcoming long-term injuries, while wing Seabelo Senatla has also fully recovered from an ankle injury and is set for another start.
If Leyds moves to flyhalf‚ Senatla is a natural fit on the left wing as a replacement.
“It’s not an easy selection this week‚ because of the injuries we’ve had‚ but we have Damian de Allende‚ Juan de Jongh and Seabelo back in the mix and available for selection,” Fleck said.
ý They will still be without Springbok flank Jaco Kriel but the Lions have the luxury of assembling the squad that went undefeated in Australia for Saturday’s Super Rugby clash against the Bulls at Ellis Park.
Kriel is doing agility training as part of the final stages of his recovery from the ligament injury he sustained against the Jaguares‚ but is highly unlikely to feature this weekend.
Winger Madosh Tambwe‚ who missed the tour of Australia due to SA Under-20 commitments‚ is available again after he sustained a side strain while playing for the Golden Lions in their Super-Sport Rugby Challenge match against the Welwitschias two weekends ago.
The Lions will go into the Bulls match with their confidence sky-high.
They returned from Australia unbeaten and their only blemish abroad in this campaign came against the Jaguares in Buenos Aires.
With several New Zealand derbies still to be played‚ the Lions now have a realistic chance of challenging for top spot on the Super Rugby points table.
That status holds inherent benefits for the knockout stages of the competition.
They will have to remain unbeaten for the rest of the league stages if they want to achieve that.
The Lions have won three of their last four matches against the Bulls‚ including last year’s 56-20 thrashing they handed them at Loftus.