Vodacom Super 14
Schalk eases into training
2010-02-09 15:43
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Schalk Burger (Gallo Images)
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Cape Town - Stormers coach Allister Coetzee has named a squad of 22 for Saturday’s opening Vodacom Super 14 match against the Lions in Johannesburg but he is still waiting on a full recovery from his skipper, Schalk Burger.
The Springbok flank did not train with the Stormers in their lunch-time session, although he did participate in a low intensity lineout session in the morning.
“Schalk has a bruised shoulder but fortunately it is not ligaments or an AC or anything like that so we are confident he will get over it and be able to lead the team against the Lions,” said Coetzee.
“We are expecting Schalk to be fully involved in our session tomorrow (Wednesday) morning. Obviously if there are any complications we can change the 22, but we are expecting Schalk to be fit.”
The same can be said for another loose-forward, Francois Louw, who has also been watching from the sidelines for the past few days.
“Francois has had a hip flexor problem since the Sharks game that ruled him out for between eight to 10 days. He has now completed his rehabilitation and is ready to start training again. He will also be back in full training at our session tomorrow,” said Coetzee.
With Sireli Naqelevuki also recovering from his slight injury picked up at the weekend, Coetzee had a mostly fit squad to choose from when it came to assembling his 22 for the trip to Johannesburg. The exceptions are lock Adriaan Fondse, wing Nick Koster and Conrad Jantjes, all of whom have a few weeks to go before full recovery from long-term injuries.
Centre Paul Bosch was ruled out of consideration after dislocating his elbow against a Boland XV last week but he was unlikely to figure in the selection for the Coca Cola Park fixture.
An interesting omission from the squad is Willem de Waal. Many thought the flyhalf would feature due to the damage his booming boot can do on the Highveld, but a combination of Lionel Cronje’s good form in the warm-up games and De Waal’s slow comeback after a neck injury played a role in the selection.
The starting team will be named on Thursday.
Stormers squad: Joe Pietersen, Gio Aplon, Bryan Habana, Sireli Naqelevuki, Jaque Fourie, Juan de Jongh, Lionel Cronje, Peter Grant, Dewaldt Duvenage, Ricky Januarie, Francois Louw, Duane Vermeulen, Pieter Louw, Schalk Burger, Andries Bekker, Anton van Zyl, De Kock Steenkamp, JC Kritzinger, Brok Harris, Deon Fourie, Tiaan Liebenberg, Wicus Blaauw.