Juan must move it and shake it
HE can step to the left, he can step to the right … and he can shoot past you in full flight!
That’s Juan de Jongh for you, and if you want to learn how to dance on a rugby field, look out for De Jongh and his mate Gio Aplon at Newlands tomorrow, when the Sharks roll into town from Durban.
We saw during the Rugby World Cup last year how the two Stormers aces can move after De Jongh scored against Namibia – but the Springbok centre will want to do a whole lot of moving tomorrow when he comes up against JP Pietersen at outside centre.
De Jongh played in only one pre-season game, against the Lions, where he took a knock to the jaw that has kept him out of action until now. He will be eager to run out in his first Super Rugby game of the season, particularly since Jaque Fourie has moved to Japan.
The 23-year-old has had limited opportunities at Test level in the last two years, but now the path is clear for him to play his way into that No 13 jersey. He will have serious competition, though, in the shape of Johann Sadie, Robert Ebersohn and even Lionel Mapoe.
But a new contender has emerged in 2012 – 42-cap Test wing Pietersen, who is following a new direction in his career by shifting closer to the ball. Pietersen is known for his long-striding running style and superb cover defence, but as Stormers backline coach Robbie Fleck remarked yesterday, it won’t be a simple adjustment for Pietersen to make.
“JP at centre is a masterstroke, and he played really well against the Bulls last week. He showed some deft touches and is a strong runner, but outside centre is the most difficult position to defend at in the backline,” Fleck told the Cape Times. “It will take time for him to settle in there, as it is not easy to change to outside centre from wing.”
If there’s anyone who can sniff out a potential weakness in an opposition centre, it is De Jongh. The way he shakes those hips has embarrassed many Super Rugby and Test centres before, and Fleck added that the man from Wellington can’t wait to get out on to the field.
“Juan has looked very sharp in training this week. He is hungry to play again, and brings huge energy to the side. We all remember how well he played alongside Jaque in 2010, and now he can strike up a combination with Jean de Villiers and push for a Springbok place as well.”
De Jongh will hope that his forwards can dominate the Sharks like they did last year and the Hurricanes last week. The Stormers pack’s chances of doing just that increased yesterday after big Sharks loose forward Willem Alberts failed a fitness test on his shoulder.
Sharks coach John Plumtree also sprung a major surprise by dropping Springbok tighthead prop Jannie du Plessis to the bench, handing youngster Wiehahn Herbst a start.
Captain Keegan Daniel will move to No 8 for Ryan Kankowski (thumb), and Jacques Botes will come in at openside flank, as Jean Deysel is also still out with injury.
Wing Odwa Ndungane (shoulder) is not yet fit to play, while Tim Whitehead was unable to get over a minor groin strain, which sees Meyer Bosman back at No 12.
That may excite De Villiers, who scored a memorable try last year by ghosting past Bosman, and then later flattened him with a ball-and-all tackle to set up Gio Aplon ...