Sarel benched for Stormers match

After leading the table-topping Bulls into the closing minutes of last Friday’s match, Head Coach Michael Foley has made four changes to the side in the hope of overcoming the second-placed Stormers.

The Cape Town side sit fourth in FxPro Super Rugby stakes, just one point adrift of their fellow South Africans who top the table with 46 points.  Foley will be hoping that the return of his namesake will boost their efforts to deliver a winning performance in Cape Town in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Fullback Bernard Foley rejoins the side after a three-week injury absence and is joined by Brendan McKibbin, who returns at halfback. In the pack, Sitaleki Timani takes over from Kane Douglas at lock and Dave Dennis packs down at No 8 in place of Wycliff Palu.   The decision on whether or not to play Tatafu Polota-Nau will be delayed until later in the week to ensure that the hooker has fully recovered from the head knock suffered in last week’s game.

Foley’s reinstatement at fullback means that Daniel Halangahu returns to the bench, despite earning the praise of Head Coach Michael Foley for his performance in round 12.

“Daniel (Halangahu) did an outstanding job at 15 last week.  On the back of his performance, it was a challenge reinstating Bernard but he is the more familiar in that position and he was the incumbent.  This is a very important game for us and Daniel’s ability to cover both 10 and 15 is a real plus.”

The second change to the backline will see scrumhalf Brendan McKibbin return in place of South African import and marquee signing Sarel Pretorius. Preferred for the early part of the season, Pretorius made way for McKibbin in the match against the Sharks.

“Brendan made an impact in his first start putting in a man-of-the-match performance.  After the Brumbies match (round 11), and with three matches in 13 days, we felt it was time to bring Sarel back and share the physical load on both players.  After Sarel’s contribution against the Bulls, Brendan returns to the starting side this week.

“Kane and Cliffy have played a lot of minutes recently,” said Foley, explaining the decision to rotate them, “and as we’ve done with Dave Dennis and Dean Mumm in recent weeks, we recognise the need to take the physical and mental pressure off the players.”

“Dave Dennis has been a standout player for us.  He’s chomping at the bit to get back in the side.”

Although a regular on the side of the scrum, Dennis is equally comfortable at the base, as was demonstrated with his performance against the Blues in last year’s qualifying final.

“Sita has had a major impact for us, whether from the start or off the bench,” said the head coach, who knows he will need another hard-hitting performance from the big Tongan on Sunday.  Although the two sides didn’t meet last season, they faced off twice in 2010, with the Stormers (who currently sit at second in the South African conference, a point behind the leading Bulls) taking the honours at home on both occasions.

“There are certain  things the Stormers do well that are easily identifiable,” said Foley. “The challenge for any team is being able to counter them.

“They are very good at using their tactical kicking to bring their defence into the game, trapping you in your own half and forcing errors.

“But the Crusaders have beaten the Stormers three times in three years.  The Reds in their game last year (a 16-13 home victory) showed that when you recognise how to play them, you give yourselves the best chance of beating them.

“For us, we have to be prepared and productive with our possession.”

The Stormers and HSBC Waratahs have met on 16 occasions since 1995, with the Stormers (previously known as Western Province or the Western Stormers) winning on eight occasions, the HSBC Waratahs taking victory seven times and the scores level on one occasion.  There is little between the teams when it comes to points scored either, with the NSW team scoring 336 points to the Cape Town side’s 349.

You can follow the HSBC Waratahs’ FxPro Super Rugby round 13 clash with the Stormers live on Fox Sports 3 (channel 503) from 3am on Sunday morning or follow every score as it happens with the HSBC Waratahs’ LIVE twitter updates by following @NSWWaratahs or searching #STOvWAR.

Waratahs team:

15. Bernard Foley (Sydney University)

14. Atieli Pakalani (Southern Districts)

13. Rob Horne (Southern Districts)

12. Adam Ashley-Cooper (Northern Suburbs)

11. Tom Kingston (Sydney University)

10. Berrick Barnes (Sydney University), vice captain

9. Brendan McKibbin (Eastern Suburbs)

8. Dave Dennis (Sydney University)

7. Chris Alcock (Eastwood)

6. Rocky Elsom (Randwick), captain

5. Sitaleki Timani (Southern Districts)

4. Dean Mumm (Sydney University)

3. Sekope Kepu (Randwick)

2. Tatafu Polota-Nau (Parramatta)/John Ulugia (Southern Districts)

1. Benn Robinson (Eastwood)

Replacements

16. John Ulugia (Southern Districts)/John Mann-Rea (Manly)

17. Jeremy Tilse (Sydney University)

18. Kane Douglas (Southern Districts)

19. Jono Jenkins (Sydney University)

20. Wycliff Palu (Manly)

21. Sarel Pretorius (Gordon)

22. Daniel Halangahu (Sydney University)

Tags: Stormers, Super Rugby, Waratahs