Stormers face selection headache

Posted by Boertjie - 07/02/10 at 11:02 pm under Super 14

Stormers coach Allister Coetzee faces what he calls “a nice little headache” when he selects his team for their opening Super 14 game against the Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday, February 13.

Len Kaplan, rugby365

“I think I’ve got 30 players who warrant inclusion in the starting line-up,” said Coetzee, speaking on Saturday after his largely second-string team had beaten a Boland XV 47-13 in the first rugby match to be played at the new Cape Town Stadium.

A number of players had put pressure on first-choice selections for inclusion in the match 22 for the Lions game.

“I was impressed with a number of players,” said Coetzee.

Two flyhalves

“I’m happy that Willem de Waal came through. He’s over his injury now. He’s medically one hundred per cent fit so all Willem needs is to spend some time on the field, and it started today.

“When Lionel Cronje came on, he played particularly well. I think Frikkie Welsh also played well. When he came on Tim Whitehead did a good job, and I think Sireli [Naqelevuki] was outstanding.”

Asked whether Ricky Januarie had done enough to merit inclusion in the squad of 22 for the Lions game, Coetzee said: “We all know Ricky’s ability. He’s a Springbok and an experienced player. It’s a good thing to have Ricky in your side rather than to play against him.”

Januarie returned recently from a sojourn in Wales where he played for the Ospreys and was given valuable game-time.

On flyhalf selection Coetzee commented that while “Lionel Cronje is pushing hard for a place” in the team, Peter Grant, Juan de Jongh and Jaque Fourie had played against both the Force and the Sharks in the tri-series and are “a good, settled combination”.

“At this point in time one would opt for experience.”

The Lions would “ask different questions” to the Boland team and he and his fellow coaches would endeavour to select “the best, fittest side that we can for next week”.

Asked whether he was happy with the Stormers preparation for the Super 14, Coetzee said scores in the Super 14 warm-up games were not important. Rather it was all about getting systems in place.

“We’re satisfied with where we are, but we’ll only be able to say after the Lions game whether we’ve done enough.”

Commenting on the Stormers performance against the Boland Invitational XV, Coetzee said he wasn’t happy with the first half performance.

“We couldn’t put phases together. We just lost the ball in contact.

“But in the second half I saw more attitude out there. The players took the ball through phases and when it was on out wide, they finished and rounded off.”

Let down by line-outs

He was happy with the scrummaging, the defence, and their kicking game, but not the line-out.

“Our line-out, which is normally an outstanding aspect to our game, wasn’t that accurate today.”

It hadn’t helped, he said, that they had played with “practice balls” until the Gilbert Super 14 ball was sent onto the field late in the second half.

“But no excuses, I wasn’t pleased with the line-out work.”

Coetzee said he and the players had enjoyed the experience of playing at the new Cape Town Stadium, which he described as “a superb facility”.

“It’s been fantastic. I think every player enjoyed playing in front of 40,000 spectators. You have that feeling that you’re playing somewhere overseas. It’s really a great vibe out here and we were excited to come out here to play. It’s been a wonderful day, a fantastic stadium.”

But he added: “We also know we’ve got to go back to Newlands. That’s where home is at this point in time.”