Burger to miss Stormers’ tour
1 Apr 2012
Injured Stormers captain Schalk Burger will not travel with the team to Australasia.
Burger, who has been sidelined with a knee injury since the Stormers’ first match of the season, was expected to make his return in the Cape side’s second tour game against the Crusaders. However, coach Allister Coetzee said on Saturday night that Burger will not be risked in any of the four matches Down Under, and will only be available to play when the team returns to South Africa.
This decision means that Jean de Villiers will continue to lead the team, while Siya Kolisi should retain the Stormers No 6 jersey.
The 26-man squad will depart for New Zealand on Sunday. The Stormers begin their tour with a match against the Highlanders before facing the Crusaders, Reds and Force on successive weekends.
Stormers touring squad – Joe Pietersen, Gio Aplon, Juan de Jongh, Jean de Villiers (c), Bryan Habana, Peter Grant, Dewaldt Duvenage, Duane Vermeulen, Rynhardt Elstadt, Siya Kolisi, Andries Bekker, Eben Etzebeth, Brok Harris, Tiaan Liebenberg, Steven Kitshoff, Deon Fourie, Frans Malherbe, De Kock Steenkamp, Nick Koster, Louis Schreuder, Burton Francis, Gerhard van den Heever, JP du Plessis, Deon Carstens, Nizaam Carr, Skara Ntubeni.
110 Comments
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31 Mar 2012, 23:34 pm
Hip Hip HOORAY there surely gotta be a God up there somewhere
1 Apr 2012, 00:09 am
Ja, Skop, there is a god up there. His name is Schalk.
1 Apr 2012, 00:27 am
My first thought on seeing the title was “skoppie will be delighted”. And well…
1 Apr 2012, 00:30 am
Ha ha Skoppie is very happy
Tough start vs Highlanders best NZ team right now
Very interesting to see how Stormers do away vs them
1 Apr 2012, 00:33 am
Highlanders very tough prospect.. gotta play Elstadt at 7 no other option but to play it exactly as we played it vs Bulls..
Vermeulen, Elstadt, Kolisi, Bekker, Etsebeth, maybe alternate Malherbe to start this time, Liebenberg, Kitshoff
Harris, Fourie, Steenkamp, Koster
1 Apr 2012, 00:37 am
With a bit of luck the Stormers could win 2 games on tour, Reds and Force.
Although the Reds at home, the defending champions, may offer slightly stiffer opposition than they did away from home.
2 wins on tour would be an excellent result for them.
1 Apr 2012, 00:39 am
what you gonna say if Stormers win 4 from 4// what you gonna say then.. ?
1 Apr 2012, 00:46 am
I would say very well done.
I don’t think any SA team in the whole history of Super rugby has gone unbeaten on our (open to correction) so that is a very lofty dream you have there.
All I bring is a sense of reality.
Highlanders and Crusaders away should have too much for your team. Of course, that’s not to say the Stormers could beat one of them or both of them.
But to go unbeaten, that would be quite something.
1 Apr 2012, 00:47 am
our = tour
1 Apr 2012, 00:50 am
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-7:
if they are going to drop a game its Vs Highlanders
Tough team and they come off bruising game vs Bulls and the long travel
1 Apr 2012, 00:51 am
@CoachPete(CoachPete)-10: and then the following week it is the Crusaders…
1 Apr 2012, 00:54 am
@wooden spoon(wooden spoon)-11:
You know the Crusaders are not the same as previous teams
They are struggling a bit Seems stormers could beat them
1 Apr 2012, 00:58 am
@CoachPete(CoachPete)-12: They have lost 2 games, to the Chiefs and Highlanders, sure.
But the Stormers have never beaten the Crusaders in NZ in the entire history of Super rugby…
It would be a big ask.
1 Apr 2012, 01:02 am
@wooden spoon(wooden spoon)-13:
and they did
I dont think the Cheetahs have ever beaten the Canes in NZ
1 Apr 2012, 01:04 am
@wooden spoon(wooden spoon)-13: Not such a big ask. Remember the crusaders play 2 games on the highveld before travelling back to nz to play the Stormers. The Bulls will soften them up for us while we will already be in nz getting ready for the game! Reds are just woeful at the moment. Stormers could take them as well. The way the Force is playing at the moment they will be the Stormers toughest opponents.
1 Apr 2012, 01:08 am
@Sasuke(Sasuke)-15:
Not the Highlanders ?? That’s the hard one IMO
1 Apr 2012, 01:13 am
@CoachPete(CoachPete)-16: Highlanders too maybe. Highlanders have been playing out of their socks the past few weeks. How much do they still have left? They are also inconsisent losing against the Brumbies last week before winning big this weekend.
1 Apr 2012, 02:05 am
Thomson is the key for the Highlanders. He gets everywhere and didn’t play against the Brumbies. Their scrummie is great too, Noakes was okay at 10 (albeit against the rebels) and their backs are more solid than spectacular.
It’ll be a tough game and they’ll want to play at high impact and high pace.
1 Apr 2012, 07:27 am
On the face of it a very tough tour, but looking at the way the Saders and Reds have been playing, it might be better than we expect.
Here’s hopining…..
1 Apr 2012, 07:32 am
probably best for schalk to stay at home and fully recover… and join the team when they get back…
the stormers usually tour well… so here’s hoping they have a good one…!!
1 Apr 2012, 07:35 am
Jean is an amazing captain. The best. Leading by example and sets a tone for a disciplined approach. Elstadt will need him as captain to keep him one degree below boiling. Also, I think AC did well with sub calls today. Koster put in some serious grunt work today. You can smell success in this team. Burger will struggle to get back in this team. The existing chemistry is sublime.
1 Apr 2012, 07:47 am
Yes, people can say what they like about the Bulls game, same as the game against the Lions. In both games they had a good lead in the first half and then lost momentum in the first 20 minutes of the 2nd half.
BUT in both cases they did what they had to do to bring home a win,
A few years ago we would have lost games like that, but now we are making a habit of pulling them off,
And that is great to see.
1 Apr 2012, 07:51 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-22:
absolutely
1 Apr 2012, 07:51 am
Looking at the squad I’m quite happy with the full complement.
Carstens, Burton, Schreuder, good players all.
Scarra needs to work on his set piece play or he’ll become the weak link.
1 Apr 2012, 07:53 am
yeah… a good squad…
also good to see jp du plessis in there…
1 Apr 2012, 07:56 am
@ufo(ufo)-25: Hey bro, howzit? Feeling good today i imagine?
How was Newlands?
1 Apr 2012, 08:00 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-26:
hey bud… how you doing…
feeling more relieved than anything else… it really was one helluva game…
must say… ac selection of elstadt was a good one… though we were surprised to see him subbed… thought it had to be a match fitness thing and to let koster come on and see what he could do… i would’ve kept elstadt on until he dropped…
1 Apr 2012, 08:02 am
yeah.. newlands rocked…
we were all very worried in the second half though…
as jean said… they don’t make it easy for themselves…
they certainly don’t make it easy for their supporters…!!!
1 Apr 2012, 08:10 am
@ufo(ufo)-27: Yeah I’m good thanks. Also relieved about the win. You are right, Elstadt was a revelation at 7, really brought the passion yesterday. With him and Eben you always felt that we had the measure of some of the Bulls players. Greyling tried to be a similar type of player but has no control. He gave us some good attacking penalty ball.
Backs also looked better than they had in the past. Good progression, and a great high to start the tour on.
1 Apr 2012, 08:14 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-29:
yeah…
backs did look good… and was also impressed at the patience we showed in moving the ball up and through the phases…
good we didn’t panic… must say it looked like the bulls… especially morne steyn… did panic a bit and revert to type… morne missed lots kicks in terms of not finding touch etc…
1 Apr 2012, 08:15 am
sorry… correction…
backs did look… better…
1 Apr 2012, 08:17 am
And, on another positive note, my Superbru is looking up.
After a dismal start I’m storming up the leaderboard. Now firmly entrenched in the top half.
Now that the teams form is starting to become clearer it will be easier to make predictions, but also harder to make up points.
1 Apr 2012, 08:21 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-32:
good for you man..!!
i don’t do superbru… can’t be sure of getting my picks in every week for so long…
yeah… the predictions aren’t as much the lottery as they were in the beginning…
did really well on with my picks here though…
expected more of the rebels with o’connor and beale returning…
but besides that game… got all the rest correct…!!
1 Apr 2012, 08:23 am
Actually Habana should’ve been penalised when he went and pushed greyling …. if i was habana i’d sleep with my eyes open! lol, that look on habana’s face when he realised what he did and what he was up against – priceless!!!
1 Apr 2012, 08:25 am
It’s 1 April.
He’s going.
1 Apr 2012, 08:25 am
Habana is use to fris boerseuntjies standing up for @ the bulls ….. when he made k@k again yesterday, you could see the Stormers when standing back and saying … wtf maak jy bryan … jys op jou eie ou maat
1 Apr 2012, 08:25 am
cheers stormersboy…
i’m out to enjoy the day…!
1 Apr 2012, 08:35 am
Stormers, Bulls and Sharks should all have four overseas wins on their sights. This is not arrogance or an expectation that this will automatically happen, but each of these three should face any of their opponents knowing that they have an excellent chance of victory. Hell the Cheetahs two losses were bya combined margin of less than ten. The teams in this years comp are more even than ever before.
1 Apr 2012, 08:39 am
All my picks except the Cheetahs came in. Very happy to be wrong on that one.
1 Apr 2012, 08:45 am
Did I hear right? Mallet talking to SA Rugby for a permanent role at the Boks? Has keo done a follow up since the last interview earlier this week?
1 Apr 2012, 09:20 am
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-40: Chief stirrer?
1 Apr 2012, 10:11 am
Proooooooooooooooovince!!!
Where’s the pink k.a.k this morning ?
1 Apr 2012, 10:30 am
Great win against the Bulls, despite Tacitus’ moaning about the scrum penalty which, contra T, Kempson said could have gone either way.
The real issue is not Schalk staying behind – and yes JdV is the better captain – but how AC is going to handle rotating his players over the coming weeks. He cannot play them into the ground.
1 Apr 2012, 10:30 am
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-40: OOOHHHH? do tell
@wp_boytjie(wp_boytjie)-42: They are all washed out.
1 Apr 2012, 10:44 am
Unbeaten and top of the log. Suck on that.
Gotta wonder what the Stormers coaches told the players at half time. With a 14 point lead and a instant yellow card for the pink kak we should have been camping in their 22 with rolling mauls. Instead we were swinging the ball around on the halfway line which led to a Bulls turnover try and put them right back in it. Tactically that was bloody stupid.
1 Apr 2012, 10:53 am
@wp_boytjie(wp_boytjie)-45: It nearly came off. The backline played the best it has done in a long while. They could have buried the Bulls if some of the moves had come off.
1 Apr 2012, 11:04 am
@Michael(mikeybrass)-46:
True , but i thought we needed one more try or two penalties before we play like a bonus point is 1 try away.
1 Apr 2012, 11:07 am
3 things that are clearly evident (IMO), after watching yesterday’s game.
1. Kolisi is one of the strongest players (pound for pound) I’ve ever seen on a rugby field.
2. Bjorn Basson isn’t as kak as I initially thought he was.
3. Duvenhage’s box kicks have become too predictable.
1 Apr 2012, 11:36 am
@wp_boytjie(wp_boytjie)-47: We could have buried them instead of relying on their defense giving away penalties. It was nice to see the variation and hopefully that part of our play will pick up as we head into the overseas leg.
@Jeraldjay(Jeraldjay)-48: Agreed. Basson has improved since last year.
1 Apr 2012, 12:25 pm
@Jeraldjay(Jeraldjay)-48:
Stormers need to find another scrumhalf if we want to win the competition or any other cup. DD is not the answer.
Kolisi looks a bit jaded to me. He was not as prominent yesterday as he was 2/3 weeks ago. Do you know what his tackle stats was for last night’s game?
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