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Jack to be kept 'in the dark'

Stephen Nell

Cape Town – The Stormers will stick to calling their lineouts in Afrikaans to prevent Crusaders lock Chris Jack from using his inside knowledge in Friday’s Super14 match at Newlands.

Jack played for Western Province for a few months in last year’s Currie Cup and formed a good lock combination with Anton van Zyl.
Adriaan Fondse and Andries Bekker were injured then, but are now the Stormers’ lock duo.

“Chris knows WP’s approach and philosophy and I think it will be important to speak Afrikaans this week. He’ll have to guess what we are doing,” Stormers coach Allister Coetzee said with a smile.

“We have changed a lot since the Currie Cup. It’s important that our lineout calls are accurate and in a language he does not understand.”
Coetzee also confirmed on Monday that loosehead prop JC Kritzinger has a calf muscle injury that will sideline him for a while.

“JC is definitely not available for Friday and it looks as if the injury can sideline him for three weeks or more. We have three fit props in JD Moller, Brok Harris and Eusebio Guinazu.

“There are guys like Michael De Neuilly-Rice and Lourens Adriaanse in the system. Janro van Niekerk (Boland) has also been talked about.

“We’re lucky that Brok has kept going at tighthead. We have to look for another tighthead to ensure we are covered.”

Moller for Kritzinger may well be the only change to the line-up that started last week’s 13-16 defeat against the Reds.
“There is no panic and no reason to make changes,” said Coetzee.

“What we need to get right is our game discipline on attack.”

Coetzee studied the Stormers’ defeat to the Reds on Monday morning and believes his players simply did not make the most of their opportunities in a game they dominated.

“Our three defeats have been by one, two and three points against Australian teams. The question is why we are putting ourselves under pressure in tight games. There is a tendency to make unforced errors,” said the coach.

“The next three games will all be tough because we are playing against three of the top sides. The Crusaders are one of the most successful teams in the competition.

“We must improve our execution. Game discipline is the key this week. It’s something we had against the Blues and Chiefs – to get in the right attacking positions and use the ball effectively.”

Crusaders captain Richie McCaw will be playing his 100th game for his team. Coach Todd Blackadder hopes this inspires the team.

“It’s Richie’s 100th game. It’s a big week for the players … there is a great focus,” Blackadder told stuff.co.nz.
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