Stormers mentor Fleck banks on Sevens star Senatla to rekindle missing mojo
STORMERS coach Robbie Fleck says he wants his side to play with courage – the way they played earlier in the season – when they face the Blues at Newlands tomorrow.
The Stormers mentor made a specific reference to the first six games his side played – before a three-match tour to New Zealand that didn’t end well – and one of his biggest goals going into their Round 13 fixture is to build that confidence again after conceding 50 points against the Crusaders and the Highlanders and 40 against the Hurricanes. “I obviously want to see an improvement from the tour and I want them to play like they played earlier
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in the season. We want to play with courage. We want to find our mojo again – and that confidence,” Fleck said.
Fleck will be hoping that Sevens star Seabelo Senatla will help his team rediscover some of that mojo when he starts on the left-wing after returning from injury, while Fleck was also optimistic about “natural ball player” Dillyn Leyds’ ability to do the job at flyhalf this weekend.
Leyds stood in for the injured Robert du Preez against the Hurricanes after leaving the field with a torn pectoral muscle. The versatile back also took charge of the No 10 role against the Highlanders.
“(Senatla) is looking fit and strong. He adds a bit of pace to our backline and brings a new dynamic,” Fleck said.
“With Dillyn having covered (flyhalf) on tour, it made sense for him to slot in there. (Brandon Thomson) comes into the set-up having played a number of games for us last year and he’s been in good form with (John) Dobson’s team.”
Fleck also added that injured pivot Jean-Luc du Plessis’ recovery was looking promising and he’s expected to return to action soon.
In terms of his midfield selection, Fleck stayed true to his promise of rewarding good form and opted to go with Shaun Treeby at inside centre instead of fit-again Springbok Damian de Allende, while he said No 13 EW Viljoen deserves his spot in this weekend’s line-up.