Leyds injured, Carr at 8 for Stormers
Stormers wing Dillyn Leyds has been ruled out of the clash against the Jaguares, while Nizaam Carr will return to the No 8 jersey after Schalk Burger was benched.
|||Cape Town - Stormers wing Dillyn Leyds has been ruled out of Saturday’s historic Super Rugby clash against the Jaguares in Buenos Aires, while Nizaam Carr will return to the No 8 jersey after Schalk Burger was benched.
The Stormers arrived in Argentina on Thursday morning South African time after leaving Cape Town on Wednesday morning, but travelled without Leyds and star lock Pieter-Steph du Toit.
Leyds picked up a knee injury at practice on Tuesday and was unable to make the trip to Buenos Aires, while Du Toit – as expected – is being rested as part of an agreement with SA Rugby that top Springboks can only play five consecutive matches (including warm-up games) before needing a break.
It is believed that the Boks may only play around 15 matches for their franchises (which includes pre-season and playoff games).
Du Toit’s unavailability sees former junior star JD Schickerling make his first start for the Stormers at No 5 after a couple of classy cameos off the bench. He will also be expected to run the lineout in Du Toit’s absence.
Eben Etzebeth will play in his fifth match in a row this weekend at the Estadio José Amalfitani, so he is likely to have a breather against the Sunwolves on April 8, which is after the Stormers’ first bye of the season next week.
Exciting youngster Leolin Zas gets another opportunity to build on his impressive first few games in Super Rugby by taking over from Leyds at left wing.
The loose trio has been reconfigured, with Burger making may for Sikhumbuzo Notshe, who will operate at openside flank as Carr moves to the back of the scrum, with Siya Kolisi remaining at blindside. It is a much better balanced back row as Notshe is quick around the park and will arrive first at most breakdowns to contest the ball on the ground, with Carr’s superior playmaking and running skills an ideal foil for the robust ball-carrier and deadly tackler Kolisi.
Another key change made by coach Robbie Fleck is at hooker, where Scarra Ntubeni gets his first start of the season in place of Bongi Mbonambi. Fleck has said that he wants Ntubeni to get back to peak fitness before he starts a match.
Mbonambi has caught the eye with a high work-rate and improved throwing into the lineouts, but Ntubeni is solid in both departments and arguably a better scrummager. That will come in handy against the renowned Jaguares pack.
There are two new faces on the bench, with young lock Jan de Klerk providing cover for the second row and Huw Jones the outside backs.
“It is very exciting for us to be here, and we are determined to improve on our performance against the Brumbies last week against a Jaguares outfit who will be very tough to beat at home,” Fleck said in a statement on Thursday.
“We are a team that enjoys touring together, and we are excited to be the first Stormers side to play a Super Rugby match in South America, so we just want to embrace the occasion.”
Stormers Team
15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Johnny Kotze, 12 Juan de Jongh (co-captain), 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Kurt Coleman, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe (co-captain), 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg.
Bench: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Jan de Klerk, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 23 Huw Jones.
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