Bekker out for five weeks
30 May 2012
Springbok lock Andries Bekker has been ruled out of the north-south derby and will also miss the coming Tests against England.
Bekker has succumbed to the same lower back injury that has troubled him for the past few seasons. Stormers coach Allister Coetzee confirmed on Wednesday that Bekker would be out for five weeks. And that time frame is conservative.
‘According to our medical team he will only be reassessed again in five weeks,’ said Coetzee. ‘He had a back operation last year and we’ve tried to manage him this season but unfortunately he can no longer cope with the workload.
‘It’s a big blow for us at this point as he is our lineout manager and he is a Springbok in our pack. Having said that, I’m confident De Kock Steenkamp [Bekker's replacement this week] will handle the responsibility. He’s a good lineout manager and can bring the type of energy and physicality needed for a clash like this.’
Coetzee explained that Bekker has been adequately managed this season, and was adamant that the injury is not a byproduct of too much rugby.
‘I’ve done the best I can to manage Andries, and I’m sure he will be the first to say so. He hurt his back again after that game against the Crusaders, and we managed him carefully from there.
‘He hasn’t played a full 80 minutes all season, and we have also not expected him to take part in every training session.’
While Coetzee claims that the Stormers will cope without Bekker, the news of his injury presents a problem for the Boks.
Bok coach Heyneke Meyer has made it clear that of all the locking candidates in South Africa, only Bekker and Bulls lock Juandré Kruger have the necessary skills to play No 5 for the Boks.
Kruger will now be considered for that first Test against England on 9 June. A strong performance against the Stormers this weekend will go a long way to convincing Meyer of his value.
Coetzee has opted to make further changes to the Stormers’ tight five, with Deon Carstens replacing Steven Kitshoff at loosehead prop. Kitshoff is unavailable because of SA U20 commitments.
Frans Malherbe has been preferred at tighthead prop and Brok Harris may be used at loosehead later in the game.
The Stormers have welcomed back flanker Siya Kolisi from a shoulder injury but fullback Joe Pietersen (back strain) has failed a fitness test and will not be available for the match.
Stormers – 15 Gio Aplon, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Jebb Sinclair, 7 Rynhardt Elstadt, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 De Kock Steenkamp, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Deon Carstens.
Subs: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Quinn Roux, 19 Don Armand, 20 Nick Fenton-Wells, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Burton Francis.
By Jon Cardinelli
297 Comments
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30 May 2012, 17:39 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-238: Yes I read it, I disagree, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.
30 May 2012, 17:44 pm
i can promise you now it will be longer than 5 weeks
30 May 2012, 17:57 pm
will be good to see quinn roux get some game time…
30 May 2012, 18:03 pm
Bekker will always get the same injury like he has been getting, lower back… Hes to tall and lanky thus his back get folded and stretched. Kruger will make the number 5 his own
30 May 2012, 18:04 pm
The Artist.
Thanks for the levity.(not levitate)
Much needed
30 May 2012, 18:09 pm
Normally on these tours, it is the Northern Hemisphere who send their C and D teams, but with one or two coaches reckless treatment of their players it may just be the other way around this time. Meyer will have to show some innovation and vision in his selections.
30 May 2012, 18:14 pm
@ufo(ufo)-251: I have to agree. AC said that he will be reassessed after 5 weeks. Bekker should not have played against the Sharks. Earlier this week I said this: on Wednesday morning before the Sharks match, I had to buy my son a brace for his wrist at a shop called “Orthocare”. The receptionist told us that Bekker was there earlier that morning. I asked whether it was for a brace for his back – she confirmed it.
Need I say more – if he was not feeling up to it, he should not have played.
30 May 2012, 18:19 pm
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-216:
Shucks I thought he was……maybe I misread it
30 May 2012, 18:23 pm
Good news for Bulls.Bad news for Boks.
30 May 2012, 18:25 pm
@CharlesM(CharlesM)-256:
yeah, i remember your comment…
sad truth is that he has been injured since before the overseas trip… he should not have gone… he did seem to get ‘better’ meaning not in as much pain… but really stuffed it up again against the cheetahs… and was curled up in a ball on his knees several times is pain… you could see him ‘toughing’ it out to finish that game before being subbed… but the way he walked off was the walk of a person with back problems…
they really should have rested him there…
i was amazed to see him play against the warawaras… and gobsmacked that they put him in against the sharks…
tragically i think his career is effectively over…
30 May 2012, 18:25 pm
@ryecatcher(ryecatcher)-258:
bad news for bekker…
30 May 2012, 18:29 pm
This is not good news. Hope the big man recovers soon.
This will put pressure on the selection of the backrow.
Bekkers height is ireplaceable. He can steal ball consistently, despite his aparent lack of Matfield like craft.
30 May 2012, 18:35 pm
@ryecatcher(ryecatcher)-258:
I’m not sure.
he’s been operating at 50% for the past few weeks.
A fully fit lock should improve the stormers.
30 May 2012, 18:47 pm
Ufo @ 258.Hi pal
Artist @ 262
Can Elstadt take lineout ball?
Regards
30 May 2012, 18:50 pm
The timing of the incoming tour break has given the Stormers an opportunity to regroup but could have a negative impact on the Sharks, who’s performances has gathered momentum over the last few weeks.
30 May 2012, 18:50 pm
@ryecatcher(ryecatcher)-263:
hey rye…
yes he can.. started out as a lock…
30 May 2012, 18:51 pm
UFO
You alway s get to the crux of the
matter
Have 2003 version of Windows.
Paraffin model.Struggling big time.
Kind regards
30 May 2012, 19:07 pm
@ryecatcher(ryecatcher)-266:
not always… been known to waffle too… but thank you…
sorry to hear about your computer hassles…
but good you persist and sprinkle your pearls of wisdom amongst the (s)whiners…
30 May 2012, 19:14 pm
No wonder Dawie Theron insisted on getting Kitshof, despite all the nice agreements he had with Alister.
Really two reasons i feel
1) Lack of rotation –
Bekker agaisnt the Force was clearly carrying an injury, he kept falling down and an icepack was brought every little while, you could see then he
wasnt right.
2) Gameplan predicated on defence
Clearly it is important to have an excellent defence, but you cannot play the volume of games and make something like 150-200 tackles each game without it having some effect on players bodies. I dont understand their emphasis on defence, or the Bulls kick chase philosophy being the bulk of the gamplan. Surely it is better to have
a balanced all round approach, sure use kick chase when the situation allows, of course there needs to be a strong defence but these should be components of an all round gameplan not the primary ingredient.
30 May 2012, 19:38 pm
@Transformation.
Geoff Parling won his 1st cap against Wales in this year’s Six Nations, but he’d been injured for the best part of two years before that, so it held him back. One of the best lineout operators in Europe, and has the speed to play back-row. Very high work-rate.
@Tacitus.
Not all the South Aficans who come to Europe succeed – it’s just you don’t get to hear of them! Jacques Cronje has never been more than average in France, for example. Rayno Gerber was in and out at Leeds. Although Wian du Preez and B.J.Botha have [mostly] started for Munster, they haven’t been great in the HC this season and received a couple of scrum pummelings from Northampton [including Mujati!!]
The two examples you quote, Brian Mujati and Juandre Kruger, were both developed almost exclusively by Northampton. The Saints had to spend two whole seasons getting Mujati’s scrummaging right before he got anywhere near the starting lineup, and Kruger was a no-name when he first came to Northampton and learned his trade. There’s no doubt in my mind that Mujati would be your 1st choice tighthead if he could get back to SA.
The success stories – like Ruan Pienaar and John Muller at Ulster, and Luke Watson and Francois Louw at Bath – all had the right attitude when they came. In other words they didn’t just come to bulk out their retirement funds, they bought into the ethos of the clubs.
30 May 2012, 20:27 pm
Bekker hasn’t got more than 8-9 Super Rugby matches in him, the up tempo kills the long legs
With all those Sport science doctors in CT, why is it so difficult to realise that?
31 May 2012, 00:07 am
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-48:
At least someone reads my posts LOL
Yeah I say that sometimes
But yes Kruger is experienced in SA and Europe
I had in in my starting 15 as the # 5 before this really bad news
Our 3 locks were pretty much set until this
It also worries me for the balance of Stormers
I have stated in the past a few times, the fact that Bekker seemed to have injury issues, was a concern .
31 May 2012, 01:58 am
Bekker has been carrying that injury for awhile now and it has showed. He has not been anywhere near his form of prior years. So, on form no loss. Not sure we really have an international class no 5 replacement though as Kruger does not instil much confidence for me.
Some injuries in key positions will affect the Boks…………..8 and 5 . Hope no more.
31 May 2012, 05:37 am
Get well soon, Andries. Rest easy. Stormers will prevail.
31 May 2012, 05:55 am
I’m afraid the roids have caught up with him. Medical fact,roids contribute significantly to back problems. Must be a lot of sore backs in Saffie land.
31 May 2012, 06:51 am
Bekker out with injury – Deja Vu
31 May 2012, 07:19 am
I see snoekskiet is back,but the vile language is gone
nome more fcdily cnteyed
you have been served
i give credit where it is due
nice improvement
pity you are still the most intollerant person here
if someone disagrees with you the insults flow
syphilis really did a job on you.
31 May 2012, 07:34 am
here’s a question…
if ac was criticized for not rotating/resting players while winning and trying to keep the stormers momentum going… why are no sharks fans… or anyone else as vocal about plum tree doing exactly the same thing…?
check out Plum changes mind about resting players on supersport…
http://www.supersport.com/rugby/super-rugby/news/120529/Plum_changes_mind_about_resting_players
31 May 2012, 07:39 am
ufo
stop deflecting attention.
you should worry about your sides game this weekend at moftus.
31 May 2012, 07:47 am
@ufo(ufo)-277: Plumtree is giving the Lions respect. Why disrupt the momentum of the Sharks by changing the team’s makeup significantly?
Sharks players are mostly injury free at the moment and the Sharks have an extra week’s rest after the tests.
The Sharks and Plumtree have no similarity to Stormers and AC’s injury predicament.
The trajectory of both teams are about as opposite as curves of supply and demand with regards to form (Sharks Demand Stormers Supply) and Injury (Sharks Supply Stormers Demand)…
31 May 2012, 07:52 am
HG
The Sharks has depth aswell which is crucial in this stage of the comp.
I see lots of stormers fans has gone silent,expect even some more silence after Saturday.
31 May 2012, 08:05 am
@storiejoernal(storiejoernal)-268: Actually is not true that the Stormers make more tackles than the other SA teams. Both the Sharks (2131) and Cheetahs (1881) had made more tackles than the Stormers (1740), Bulls (1739), Lions (1515)
The Stormers defensive system is just more efficient than the other teams in terms of tries conceded
31 May 2012, 08:05 am
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-279:
You’re missing the point…
Plumtree had said he would use the Lion’s game to rest players… (no mention of respecting the Lion’s)
he then changed his mind after the Sharks beat the Stormers and said it’s about maintaining winning momentum…
Pretty much what ac was saying when people were suggesting he rest players before they were injured and Stormers were on an upwards winning curve…
exactly the same scenario…
It’s also not about playing the players because they’re injury free… it’s about resting them periodically when they’re injury free to prevent injuries due to the attritional nature of the competition…
i sincerely hope no sharks players get injured… as i hate seeing any players get injured in any team… but it will be interesting to see what you say if and when they do…
31 May 2012, 08:09 am
ufo dont go swim in the sea today
your monthly bleeding is gonna attract sharks.
31 May 2012, 08:09 am
Sharks need 5 points – not a rest. The non-Boks have a 5 week break after this, and the Boks will have the bye week after the June tests.
31 May 2012, 08:12 am
@ufo(ufo)-252:
Will be… from Rassie’s mouth he’s a monster @1.98m and 122kgs…`
31 May 2012, 08:16 am
@ufo(ufo)-277:
Oh PLummo-for-brains has been lambasted for seasons for over-playing albeit he was good with the front-row when captain courageous was there to cover both props and hooker…
31 May 2012, 08:19 am
@bryce_in_oz(bryce_in_oz)-286:
In saying that there is a big difference between saying going back on resting players… over-playing players clearly suffering injuries…
31 May 2012, 08:22 am
@bryce_in_oz(bryce_in_oz)-285:
yeah… he is huge… i’d heard about him but not seen him till the voda-semi… he really is a big unit… but surprisingly quick across the ground… made one covering tackle on their wing… impressive stuff…
but i also wonder if he is perhaps not ‘too big’ like bekker and needs careful management…
@bryce_in_oz(bryce_in_oz)-286:
yeah… i don’t expect many sharks fans to agree and my question was not to stir… i was just struck by the similarities between the two coaches statements…
time will tell…
however i do feel the sharks will be okay without resting players… many have been injured (and therefore rested) already…
31 May 2012, 08:27 am
@Fern is not a stud,he is merely no19(Fern)-280: I don’t think Stormers fans have disappeared, I think it’s more a case of: Unlike the Association for Retired Persons which is the Sharks support base, the Stormers have fans who still contribute to the economy (i.e. work might prevent blogging at times?
That said, some of the comments have been rather amusing.
31 May 2012, 09:10 am
@bokke baiter(bokke baiter)-274: I think it is either (1) the players who got lazy in NZ (on tour), since there is absolutely nothing worthwhile to do, or (2) the terrible food.
Make your pick.
31 May 2012, 09:15 am
Bekker is brittle….like Donkey de Villiers.
31 May 2012, 10:44 am
Anybody has an idea how many caps Matfield had before Bakkies joined him at lock? It couldn’t have been that many. Between 10 and 20, or even less?
Now with a front row boasting more than 100 caps between them (Beast, Bissie, Jannie) and a back row who boasts nearly as much (Spies, Brussow, one other), why would it be a problem to throw the youngsters (Etzebeth, Kruger) in at the deep end?
31 May 2012, 10:58 am
@nama1(nama1)-292: I dont see the problem either – especially since the English locks aren’t battle-hardened veterans
31 May 2012, 11:03 am
@ufo(ufo)-282: Don’t bother with Gat.
31 May 2012, 12:45 pm
Kruger has faced Mouritz Botha multiple times in the english premiership as well as in the heineken cup and outplayed him for a spot in the english premiership team of the season 2 years in a row as well as making the heineken cup 15 – check this awesome pick i found on zimbio of Kruger and Botha locking into each other from this picture you can clearly see that kruger has gotten under his skin http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Juandre+Kruger/Northampton+Saints+v+Saracens+LV+Anglo+Welsh/dXJ8ZGI2tXn
1 Jun 2012, 07:44 am
C’mon, you’ve got to pick Bakkies – a Botha in each team would be a first surely. As for the Tac types that tend to boneheadedly rubbish players from SA who leave for the North (or South nowadays), and do well, this is often just an indication of how mediocre our coaching is. NZ won the RWC with a bunch of journeymen (think piri Wee poo). SA has many players who have the potential to be at least good if not truly great (Ebersohn is another Gaffie) but fail to get decent support and specialist coaching. That is why SA S15 teams lack depth in individual teams and as a country: limited support, greed, egos, politics, poor leadership and no real vision. Add a Tac type provincial attitude, and I can’t see any changes soon. It’s going to be tight against the Poms.
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