Stormers focused on their own young loosies
SEEING as Siya Kolisi spent more than a decade playing his rugby in the Cape, it’s only natural that seeing him run out for the Sharks against the Stormers for the first time will be quite a strange sight.
The Springbok captain has been named in the Sharks’ starting line-up for their Rainbow Cup SA opener against his former team at Cape Town Stadium tomorrow (2pm kickoff).
It would almost be natural to expect Kolisi to have featured greatly in the Stormers’ preparation for the match given the role he played in the Cape and how well he knows their operations.
Stormers forwards coach Rito Hlungwani, however, disputed that, and instead of zooming in on Kolisi in the Sharks’ No 6 jersey, he chose to focus on their own young, talented loosies.
“Siya has been at Province for a long time and during that time the team has evolved. We feel that we are continuously evolving,” said Hlungwani.
“It’s part of the game. We have had players leave at certain times, so we are not too concerned about what Siya knows.
“He is a guy that we all love, he is a good human being, but in saying that, players come and go and we feel we have prepared well to make sure that we are ready for certain players to step in when a big player like Siya leaves.”
On what players like Marcel Theunissen and Nama Xaba can bring to their back row, Hlungwani added: “You would have seen Marcel Theunissen put his hand up during the Preparation Series. You would have seen Nama Xaba, who is also one of our products from the institute, so it will be good to see how he slots into that position.
“It will be a competitive game, but we are not too stressed about anything that Siya might be giving to the Sharks.
“It’s no different to any other team analysing us and giving some extra information that they may know.
“Nama came straight from Glenwood to the Western Province Rugby Institute, where I was coaching at the time, and he is a very hard worker.
“I’ve known him for a long time. He works well around the park and he is one of those guys that is always running in front.
“At the end of the training, you will always see him doing extras. He wants to be the best in that position.”
SHARKS
Starting XV: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Sibusiso Nkosi, 13 Lukhanyo Am (capt), 12 Jeremy Ward, 11 Yaw Penxe, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Henco Venter, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Ox Nche Replacements: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Wiehahn Herbst, 19 JJ van der Mescht, 20 Phepsi Buthelezi, 21 Sanele Nohamba, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Werner Kok