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Cape Town – “There’s an incredible hype here in Brisbane. It’s going to be one of the best games of the series.”
That is how Stormers backline coach Robbie Fleck set the stage for Friday’s Super 14 match between the Reds and Stormers at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
With the Reds having beaten the Bulls 19-12 last week and the Stormers coming off an excellent 49-15 thrashing of the Chiefs in Hamilton, this will indeed be a match that rugby fans are looking forward to.
The Stormers and Reds are third and fourth on the log respectively, but a victory is important for both as the road to the semi-finals is not easy.
For the Stormers the Crusaders lie in wait at Newlands immediately after their return on Friday next week, with games against the Sharks in Durban and the Bulls in Cape Town to follow in the run-up to the semi-finals.
It’s hard to imagine a tougher last three weeks.
After Friday’s match the Reds still have to play the Brumbies and Hurricanes away. They finish the league phase with a relatively easy game at home against the Highlanders.
The Stormers’ tough schedule in the run-in adds to the pressure to get a result on Friday.
“We still have to play the Crusaders and Bulls at Newlands. That is why it’s so important to go back to South Africa confident that we have beaten one of the best teams in the competition,” said Fleck.
“I don’t expect the Reds to take a different approach to the attacking philosophy that has been established there over the last three years. It started with Phil Mooney as coach and they have built confidence under Ewen McKenzie.
“They are extremely dangerous and believe they can win by holding on to the ball and moving your forwards around, which they did against the Bulls.”
The halfback pairing of Will Genia and Quade Cooper are the big danger men that the Stormers will have to neutralise.
The two young halves reminds one of the feared former Brumbies and Wallaby combination of George Gregan and Stephen Larkham.
Stormers fly-half Peter Grant could not have asked for a better duel to prove himself worthy of wearing South Africa’s No 10 jersey.
“It’s going to be an interesting contrast in styles between the halfback pairings. You have the pairing at the Reds that are brilliant on attack, while Dewaldt and Peter are more structured and direct,” said Fleck.
The Stormers pack will have to front up to ensure that Genia and Cooper are under pressure.
However, it won’t be easy as there are a number of unsung heroes in the Reds pack.
Possession will be of vital interest, but even without it the Stormers must maintain their standards on defence.
Cooper’s one weakness is his decision-making and he sometimes takes unnecessary risk in his own half.
The Stormers must exploit the opportunities if the Reds make those mistakes.
Reds v Stormers, Brisbane - 11:40
Reds:
15. Peter Hynes, 14. Rod Davies, 13. Will Chambers, 12. Anthony Faingaa, 11. Digby Ioane, 10. Quade Cooper, 9. Will Genia (captain), 8. Leroy Houston, 7. Daniel Braid, 6. Scott Higginbotham, 5. Adam Byrnes, 4. Rob Simmons, 3. Laurie Weeks, 2. Saia Faingaa, 1. Ben Daley
Substitutes: 16. Sean Hardman, 17. Greg Holmes, 18. Jack Kennedy, 19. Ezra Taylor, 20. Jake Schatz, 21. Ben Lucas, 22. Brando Va’aulu
Stormers:
15. Gio Aplon, 14. Sireli Naqelevuki, 13. Jaque Fourie, 12. Juan de Jongh, 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Peter Grant, 9. Dewaldt Duvenage, 8. Duane Vermeulen, 7. Francois Louw, 6. Schalk Burger (captain), 5. Andries Bekker, 4. Adriaan Fondse, 3. Brok Harris, 2. Tiaan Liebenberg, 1. JC Kritzinger
Substitutes: 16. Deon Fourie, 17. JD Moller, 18. Anton van Zyl, 19. Pieter Louw, 20. Ricky Januarie, 21. Willem de Waal, 22. Tim Whitehead
Cape Town – “There’s an incredible hype here in Brisbane. It’s going to be one of the best games of the series.”
That is how Stormers backline coach Robbie Fleck set the stage for Friday’s Super 14 match between the Reds and Stormers at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
With the Reds having beaten the Bulls 19-12 last week and the Stormers coming off an excellent 49-15 thrashing of the Chiefs in Hamilton, this will indeed be a match that rugby fans are looking forward to.
The Stormers and Reds are third and fourth on the log respectively, but a victory is important for both as the road to the semi-finals is not easy.
For the Stormers the Crusaders lie in wait at Newlands immediately after their return on Friday next week, with games against the Sharks in Durban and the Bulls in Cape Town to follow in the run-up to the semi-finals.
It’s hard to imagine a tougher last three weeks.
After Friday’s match the Reds still have to play the Brumbies and Hurricanes away. They finish the league phase with a relatively easy game at home against the Highlanders.
The Stormers’ tough schedule in the run-in adds to the pressure to get a result on Friday.
“We still have to play the Crusaders and Bulls at Newlands. That is why it’s so important to go back to South Africa confident that we have beaten one of the best teams in the competition,” said Fleck.
“I don’t expect the Reds to take a different approach to the attacking philosophy that has been established there over the last three years. It started with Phil Mooney as coach and they have built confidence under Ewen McKenzie.
“They are extremely dangerous and believe they can win by holding on to the ball and moving your forwards around, which they did against the Bulls.”
The halfback pairing of Will Genia and Quade Cooper are the big danger men that the Stormers will have to neutralise.
The two young halves reminds one of the feared former Brumbies and Wallaby combination of George Gregan and Stephen Larkham.
Stormers fly-half Peter Grant could not have asked for a better duel to prove himself worthy of wearing South Africa’s No 10 jersey.
“It’s going to be an interesting contrast in styles between the halfback pairings. You have the pairing at the Reds that are brilliant on attack, while Dewaldt and Peter are more structured and direct,” said Fleck.
The Stormers pack will have to front up to ensure that Genia and Cooper are under pressure.
However, it won’t be easy as there are a number of unsung heroes in the Reds pack.
Possession will be of vital interest, but even without it the Stormers must maintain their standards on defence.
Cooper’s one weakness is his decision-making and he sometimes takes unnecessary risk in his own half.
The Stormers must exploit the opportunities if the Reds make those mistakes.
Reds v Stormers, Brisbane - 11:40
Reds:
15. Peter Hynes, 14. Rod Davies, 13. Will Chambers, 12. Anthony Faingaa, 11. Digby Ioane, 10. Quade Cooper, 9. Will Genia (captain), 8. Leroy Houston, 7. Daniel Braid, 6. Scott Higginbotham, 5. Adam Byrnes, 4. Rob Simmons, 3. Laurie Weeks, 2. Saia Faingaa, 1. Ben Daley
Substitutes: 16. Sean Hardman, 17. Greg Holmes, 18. Jack Kennedy, 19. Ezra Taylor, 20. Jake Schatz, 21. Ben Lucas, 22. Brando Va’aulu
Stormers:
15. Gio Aplon, 14. Sireli Naqelevuki, 13. Jaque Fourie, 12. Juan de Jongh, 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Peter Grant, 9. Dewaldt Duvenage, 8. Duane Vermeulen, 7. Francois Louw, 6. Schalk Burger (captain), 5. Andries Bekker, 4. Adriaan Fondse, 3. Brok Harris, 2. Tiaan Liebenberg, 1. JC Kritzinger
Substitutes: 16. Deon Fourie, 17. JD Moller, 18. Anton van Zyl, 19. Pieter Louw, 20. Ricky Januarie, 21. Willem de Waal, 22. Tim Whitehead
