Stormers to go at the Hurricanes hard
Kolisi at No 8 and six forwards on the bench
THE STORMERS have made their intentions clear - they’re going at the Hurricanes with their forwards, hard.
Stormers coach John Dobson went with a six-two bench split for their Super Rugby-opener against the New Zealanders, emphasising the goal for the weekend. The Stormers team features 10 Springboks, seven of them World Cup-winners, and one British & Irish Lion in Jamie Roberts
Roberts will be partnered in midfield by experienced Blitzbok Ruhan Nel. Fullback Dillyn Leyds and wings Sergeal Petersen and Seabelo Senatla form the back three, with Damian Willemse and Herschel Jantjies the exciting halfback pairing.
Up front, captain Siya Kolisi is joined in the loose trio by World Player of the Year Pieter-Steph du Toit and Jaco Coetzee, while Chris van Zyl and Salmaan Moerat make up the starting second row. Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi and Steven Kitshoff team up in the all-Bok front row.
Kolisi coming in at No 8 is also a notable choice.
During the team announcement press conference yesterday, the World Cup-winning skipper said that he never thought he’d find himself in the No 6 position while growing up.
The openside jersey has of course become the main one for Kolisi in his professional career, although his skilful play in the loose make him a more-than-suitable fit at the back of the scrum. In the build-up to the big fixture, Dobson said that they want to engage the Hurricanes at the set-piece, something they’re more than capable of doing given the quality of their men up front.
The Canes will present a big challenge at the breakdown, with their loose forwards, on momentum, also a threat,but with Coetzee and Kolisi in the mix, the Stormers have no shortage of explosive power in their loose trio, while Du Toit’s physicality will also go a long way in ensuring the Cape side achieving their goal, especially in the collisions.
The game kicks off at 3.05pm at Newlands on Saturday. Stormers – 15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Siya Kolisi (c), 7 PieterSteph du Toit, 6 Jaco Coetzee, 5 Chris van Zyl, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 David Meihuizen, 20 Ernst van Rhyn, 21 Johan du Toit, 22 Godlen Masimla, 23 Rikus Pretorius.