Injury crisis hits Stormers hard

[tdevil]

By Zelim Nel

The Stormers will spend the first few minutes of training putting names to faces as they welcome replacement players into the wider squad for this week's match against the Western Force at Newlands.

"We've had such bad luck with injuries, we'll be giving local guys from outside the 36-man squad a chance," said coach Rassie Erasmus in the aftermath of the team's 28-14 loss to the Chiefs on Saturday.

Even the most intricate contingency plan would have been declared redundant against the Chiefs as the skeleton-crew Stormers lost three more starters to injury.

A difficult season for Erasmus became impossible when Conrad Jantjes fractured his lower leg in a horror-collision with Chiefs flanker Liam Messam during the first-quarter of play. It is believed the fullback will be sidelined for the remainder of the year.

Meanwhile, Schalk Burger will be anxiously awaiting the results of a scan today after he left the field just before half-time with a calf strain and prop JD Moller similarly plodded off after a recurring shoulder injury flared up again.

The extent of the team's injury list is almost laughable except for the fact the Stormers must now somehow regroup in defence of their pride against a fully-loaded Force team that is fighting for semi-final survival - the only blips on their radar are a question mark over centre James O'Connor's fitness and scrumhalf Josh Valentine's disciplinary hearing on Tuesday after being cited for a dangerous tackle on Bulls halfback Fourie du Preez on Saturday.

The Stormers are bringing up the rear in eleventh place with three wins in 11 attempts while the Force are in ninth place with a 5-5-1 record and 30 log points.

But their ranking belies a team that has toppled leading title-contenders this season; the Perth side beat the Brumbies, drew with defending champions Crusaders in Christchurch and tip-toed past the Waratahs in Sydney three weeks ago.

A one-point loss to current log-leaders Hurricanes, and the Force's close-run 32-29 defeat in Pretoria last week, waylaid a team that will feel it deserves to be higher on the table.

Unlike the Stormers' opponents in recent weeks, the Force are perhaps the competition's most balanced outfit and cannot be designated as an out-and-out running team.
Coach John Mitchell has hitched his wagon to flyhalf Matt Giteau, handing the playmaker the reins to make tactical on-field decisions. The diminutive dynamo has rewarded the coach's faith in him, starring in a team ranked among the best in converting linebreaks into tries as winger Cameron Shepherd leads the competition with seven tries, while Giteau is listed fourth overall in points-scored.

The Force are also competent in the set pieces, with captain Nathan Sharpe leading the competition's third-most prolific lineout, and veteran hooker Tai McIsaac fronting a scrum that held its own against the Bulls.

The Australians pride themselves on their conditioning and mobility, and their affinity for moving the ball through hands is an attempt to leverage this strength against more cumbersome opponents with a view to wearing them down late in the game.

In addition, Mitchell's team are thrifty on defence, averaging the fewest missed tackles per game, and they're equally frugal at the breakdown.

This is particularly bad news for the Stormers, who have lacked innovation and ingenuity on attack this season and, while the Force have scored 35 tries, Erasmus' charges have crossed the line just 22 times.

The Stormers coach is convinced that relentless defence and an advantage in the territory game are vital ingredients in a recipe for success, but he will have noted the continued slump in form of flyhalf Willem de Waal.

The return to fitness of Gcobani Bobo could see Peter Grant gifted another opportunity to kick for the corners at pivot, while lock Andries Bekker and tighthead prop Brian Mujati will have their injuries assessed this week.

Chiefs coach Ian Foster congratulated the Stormers on their resolute commitment to remaining competitive despite the absence of so many first-choice players. Erasmus will be hoping for more of the same as his team switch to damage control for the remainder of the season.

[lara93]

:O:O

[BaldCunus]

that has to be one of the best articles on the force in like forever!!!

[travelling_gerry]

'Massive blow' to lose Schalk

May 05 2009 at 12:28PM


By Ashfak Mohamed

The Stormers were hit with yet another injury blow on Monday when Schalk Burger was ruled out for the final two Super 14 games but assistant coach Gary Gold is confident that Pieter Louw will be able to fill Burger's shoes successfully against the Western Force on Saturday.

Burger went for a scan on his calf yesterday and won't be fit to face the Force at Newlands and the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein next week. But he should at least be ready to play against the British and Irish Lions in June.

Further bad news for the Stormers is that lock Andries Bekker and tighthead prop Brian Mujati are also unlikely to play against the Force.

'It doesn't look good for Dries and Brian'
Bekker is still struggling with a rib injury while Mujati is trying to recover from concussion.

"It doesn't look good for Dries and Brian," Gold said on Monday. He said Louw, who replaced Burger in the 28-14 defeat to the Chiefs at Newlands at the weekend, would start in the No.6 jersey against the Force.

"It's like a comedy of errors with all the injuries," he said. "It is a massive blow to lose Schalk. He is one of the best opensiders in the world. He was also the captain now that Jean is also out.

"But Pieter is good on the floor for a tall guy. He is also similar in height to Schalk (1.91m compared to Burger's 1.93m), so he is a lineout option and we won't lose anything there.

"Pieter has also been in and out of teams for two to three years and now he gets a chance to start. Pieter will play in Schalk's place. Luke Watson and Duane Vermeulen won't have to change their roles."

Watson will take over as Stormers captain
Interestingly, Watson will take over as Stormers captain for the Force match from Burger, who led the side in Jean de Villiers's injury-enforced absence. Rassie Erasmus said last week that De Villiers may be ready to face the Cheetahs.

It is a big turnaround for Watson, who was stripped of the captaincy at the beginning of 2008 when Erasmus opted for De Villiers.

Watson was overlooked previously when De Villiers was unavailable, with Burger and even Andries Bekker taking over the captaincy at various stages.

Watson was also booed earlier this season at Newlands in the Super 14 warm-up game against Saracens after he made controversial comments about the Springbok jersey at a function in 2008.

The Bok loose forward took over the captaincy against the Chiefs when Burger left the field just before half-time.

Gold said that centre Gcobani Bobo did take part in training yesterday and "is in the mix" to play against the Force. Gold confirmed that Bobo's return could result in a backline reshuffle.

"We only discuss our team on a Tuesday evening after practice but it is good to have Bobes back," he said. "He looked good in training today. Joe Pietersen also practised with us today."

Bobo is most likely to slot in at inside centre, with Peter Grant moving back to flyhalf at the expense of Willem de Waal.

Pietersen could come in at fullback to replace the injured Conrad Jantjes. Tiger Bax made a few mistakes when he came on for Jantjes in the Chiefs match so Pietersen's greater experience may be preferred.

Pieter Myburgh is in line to replace Louw on the bench but sustained a shoulder injury in Western Province's Vodacom Cup quarter-final defeat to the Blue Bulls last weekend.

The only other loose forward who has trained with the Stormers this year is Boetie Britz but he is out for the season with a long-term injury.

"We will assess Pieter tomorrow at training," said Gold. "I know that he has a shoulder problem but we will see how bad it is.

"If he can't play then we will have to look around for someone as Boetie Britz is out for the season."


http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_i...5457644C652668

[oxleymoron]

Who will the vbookies now target for the traditional stormers yellow card bet?