Boland rout ends Stormers’ preseason

The Stormers completed their preseason matches with an 875 rout of the Boland Cavaliers in Wellington on Friday.

Stormers coach Robbie Fleck gave his battalion of Springboks crucial game time and, barring a slight scare for prop Steven Kitshoff‚ they all came through the test.

Kitshoff picked up a hamstring niggle‚ although the full extent of the injury has yet to be ascertained.

As expected, the Stormers pack had too much power and class for the Cavaliers and from the platform that the eight laid‚ their backline ran riot.

Centres Damian de Allende and Ruhan Nel gave good performances, suggesting they would be in the midfield for Saturday’s Super Rugby opener against the Bulls at Loftus.

The Stormers led 49-0 at halftime with captain Siya Kolisi dusting off the rust to score one of the team’s 13 tries.

Wings SP Marais and Nico Leonard‚ lock JD Schickerling and flank Jaco Coetzee helped themselves to two tries each.

As preparation for Super Rugby the Stormers gained little from the exercise, but it was an important run for the likes of Kolisi who had not played in the other two warm-up games.

The Stormers have shown decent form in the preseason, particularly with their 33-28 win over the Bulls in front of nearly 50‚000 fans at the Cape Town Stadium last Sunday.

With the exception of lock Eben Etzebeth‚ and perhaps Kitshoff‚ they should also have a fully fit squad to choose from for Saturday’s first-round clash against the Bulls at Loftus.

Off-field issues also seem to be under control after the WP Rugby board and the WP Rugby Football Union exco set aside their differences at a meeting in Cape Town – but the peace remains tenuous. Scorers:

Stormers – Tries: JD Shickerling (2)‚ Sikhumbuzo Notshe‚ SP Marais (2)‚ Neethling Fouche‚ Ruhan Nel‚ Siya Kolisi‚ Nico Leonard (2)‚ Juarno Augustus‚ Jaco Coetzee (2). Conversions: SP Marais (4)‚ Willemse (3)‚ Jean-Luc du Plessis (4).

Boland Cavaliers – Try: Gavin Skippers.