The battle of flyhalves
HOPEFULLY Cobus Wiese will be ready and wide awake for all the “clever tricks” the Cheetahs could come up with at Newlands on Saturday when he gets his first start of the season... because his coach Robbie Fleck sure is.
Wiese, who impressed in the Stormers’ pre-season games, will start at No 6 in the place of injured Rynhardt Elstadt, who was ruled out for three months with an ankle injury after the Sunwolves game last week.
The 19-year-old also had a good go when he came off the bench in Singapore last weekend, and Fleck believes his versatility and energy make him a good addition to the loose trio.
“His physicality around the park is pretty impressive. He has a high work-rate and his lineout skills are decent. So he offers us a lot of options. He’s a young kid with a lot of energy. We just thought the balance with the loose forwards would suit us better for this game with him starting,” Fleck said.
Another man who has been rewarded for his good performances is Dan du Plessis, who will get his second start of the season against Franco Smith’s team, with Dan Kriel moving to the bench.
“Dan du Plessis had a pretty impressive game against the Kings. We’ll see what he can do. When he came on his combination was solid and his communication on defence was good.”
The Stormers have also been boosted by the return of fit-again Jano Vermaak, who impressed with fantastic form before he got injured.
Vermaak will partner Robert du Preez, who will again start in the No 10 jersey.
“He (Vermaak) was in good form before his injury, so we welcome him back. Dewaldt was also excellent last week and it’s great to have to experienced scrumhalves like that at our disposal.”
One thing that wasn’t great last week, especially in the first half, was the Stormers’ defence. But Fleck was confident in his team’s ability to get it right against a team that will certainly test them.
“We weren’t happy with our defence in the first half. The good thing about this team is when we talk about certain things, they correct them. So hopefully we see an improvement there.”
Fleck also praised the Cheetahs for their innovative play, including their interesting lineout options in recent weeks. The Free Staters have used backs in their lineouts or mixed up the positioning of the players involved at the set-piece.
And it’s worked for them, as they scored a superb try against the Bulls from a lineout, and gained good ground after the set-piece in that game and in others. At the very least, they’ve unsettled teams with these tactics.
Fleck said: “The Cheetahs are smart. They’ll come with some clever tactics... in the lineouts, the scrums or in open play. They’ll come up with something.”
“It’s good to see them thinking outside the box. So it’s always a challenging game for us and we need to be at our best to beat them.”
“We have to prepare for anything. Especially if they come close to our line, they’re going to try something. And it’s good on them – it keeps us on our toes. It’s going to be a good game.”