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Cape Town - Stormers flank Schalk Burger says it’s imperative that they cut down their error-rate when facing the Brumbies in Canberra on Saturday.
The Stormers have won only one game out of four this season and sit second from bottom on the overall log.
The Brumbies have not defeated the Stormers since 2010 at Newlands, with losses in Canberra (2011) and Cape Town (2013), but are coming off an impressive 28-23 win over the Waratahs which saw them move to the top of the Australian conference.
Burger knows it will be tough on Saturday, but called on his players to stop making silly errors.
“We know how hard it is to win in Canberra and we’re obviously feeling a bit of pressure after two losses (on tour) so far,” said Burger.
“But a lot of hard graft has been done in this build-up week, so we’re seeing this game as an opportunity to turn our season around.
“We came close against the Crusaders (in the first week of our tour). Against the Chiefs (last week) we hung in for long periods of time, got ourselves into a good position and then, unfortunately, we gave it away again with a silly mistake.
“We have to eradicate those mistakes from our game, as against the Chiefs we just made way too many of them. If we cut down our error-rate, we will have more continuity in our game,” added Burger, whose side will be facing four players who were born in South Africa on Saturday.
Lionel Cronjé needs no introduction - he is a former SA Under-20 star and played seven times for the Stormers in 2010 and 2011.
Loosehead prop JP Smith will make his Brumbies starting debut and his twin brother Ruan, also a prop and former SA Schools representative, is on the bench. They were born in Vryburg but finished matric at Paarl Gymnasium.
Finally, replacement back Stephan van der Walt will debut at this level if he gets game time. He was born in Klerksdorp but moved to Australia with his family when he was eight and played most of his rugby in Queensland before moving to the Brumbies two seasons ago.
Kick-off is at 10:40 on Saturday.
Teams:
Brumbies:
15. Jesse Mogg, 14. Joe Tomane, 13. Andrew Smith, 12. Pat McCabe, 11. Robbie Coleman, 10. Matt Toomua, 9. Nic White, 8. Ben Mowen (captain), 7. Jarrad Butler, 6. Jordan Smiler, 5. Sam Carter, 4. Scott Fardy, 3. Ben Alexander, 2. Stephen Moore, 1. JP Smith
Substitutes: 16. Siliva Siliva, 17. Ruan Smith, 18. Ruaidhri Murphy, 19. Jack Whetton, 20. Lachlan McCaffrey, 21. Michael Dowsett, 22. Stephan van der Walt, 23. Lionel Cronjé
Stormers:
15. Gio Aplon, 14. Kobus van Wyk, 13. Jean de Villiers (captain), 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Sailosi Tagicakibau, 10. Peter Grant, 9. Nic Groom, 8. Duane Vermeulen, 7. Schalk Burger, 6. Deon Fourie, 5. Michael Rhodes, 4. Ruan Botha, 3. Frans Malherbe, 2. Tiaan Liebenberg, 1. Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16. Stephan Coetzee, 17. Oliver Kebble, 18. Brok Harris, 19. Siya Kolisi, 20. Nizaam Carr, 21. Louis Schreuder, 22. Demetri Catrakilis, 23. Juan de Jongh
The Stormers have won only one game out of four this season and sit second from bottom on the overall log.
The Brumbies have not defeated the Stormers since 2010 at Newlands, with losses in Canberra (2011) and Cape Town (2013), but are coming off an impressive 28-23 win over the Waratahs which saw them move to the top of the Australian conference.
Burger knows it will be tough on Saturday, but called on his players to stop making silly errors.
“We know how hard it is to win in Canberra and we’re obviously feeling a bit of pressure after two losses (on tour) so far,” said Burger.
“But a lot of hard graft has been done in this build-up week, so we’re seeing this game as an opportunity to turn our season around.
“We came close against the Crusaders (in the first week of our tour). Against the Chiefs (last week) we hung in for long periods of time, got ourselves into a good position and then, unfortunately, we gave it away again with a silly mistake.
“We have to eradicate those mistakes from our game, as against the Chiefs we just made way too many of them. If we cut down our error-rate, we will have more continuity in our game,” added Burger, whose side will be facing four players who were born in South Africa on Saturday.
Lionel Cronjé needs no introduction - he is a former SA Under-20 star and played seven times for the Stormers in 2010 and 2011.
Loosehead prop JP Smith will make his Brumbies starting debut and his twin brother Ruan, also a prop and former SA Schools representative, is on the bench. They were born in Vryburg but finished matric at Paarl Gymnasium.
Finally, replacement back Stephan van der Walt will debut at this level if he gets game time. He was born in Klerksdorp but moved to Australia with his family when he was eight and played most of his rugby in Queensland before moving to the Brumbies two seasons ago.
Kick-off is at 10:40 on Saturday.
Teams:
Brumbies:
15. Jesse Mogg, 14. Joe Tomane, 13. Andrew Smith, 12. Pat McCabe, 11. Robbie Coleman, 10. Matt Toomua, 9. Nic White, 8. Ben Mowen (captain), 7. Jarrad Butler, 6. Jordan Smiler, 5. Sam Carter, 4. Scott Fardy, 3. Ben Alexander, 2. Stephen Moore, 1. JP Smith
Substitutes: 16. Siliva Siliva, 17. Ruan Smith, 18. Ruaidhri Murphy, 19. Jack Whetton, 20. Lachlan McCaffrey, 21. Michael Dowsett, 22. Stephan van der Walt, 23. Lionel Cronjé
Stormers:
15. Gio Aplon, 14. Kobus van Wyk, 13. Jean de Villiers (captain), 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Sailosi Tagicakibau, 10. Peter Grant, 9. Nic Groom, 8. Duane Vermeulen, 7. Schalk Burger, 6. Deon Fourie, 5. Michael Rhodes, 4. Ruan Botha, 3. Frans Malherbe, 2. Tiaan Liebenberg, 1. Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16. Stephan Coetzee, 17. Oliver Kebble, 18. Brok Harris, 19. Siya Kolisi, 20. Nizaam Carr, 21. Louis Schreuder, 22. Demetri Catrakilis, 23. Juan de Jongh
