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Cape Town - Stormers captain Jean de Villiers has backed flyhalf Gary van Aswegen to pass a tough Super Rugby test against the Sharks at Newlands on Saturday.
Van Aswegen, 23, was on Wednesday named as Stormers pivot with Elton Jantjies and Peter Grant sidelined due to injuries.
Van Aswegen has himself been plagued by injuries in his relatively short career, only registering seven appearances (three as starting flyhalf) since making his Stormers debut in 2011.
VIDEO: The Stormers' plea
However, De Villiers, who will play outside him at inside centre told Die Burger's website Van Aswegen has "all the skills" in the book to be successful at Super Rugby level.
"He won't let you down on defence, he has a good pass and kicks well tactically.
"Hopefully myself and Dewaldt (Duvenage) can support him well on either side.
"Gary will effectively run the show. I'm excited about that and sure he will do well," said De Villiers.
Duvenage was elevated to the starting lineup, replacing Nic Groom, who had a horror match against the Cheetahs last weekend. Groom drops out of the match-day 22 altogether, with Louis Schreuder the reserve scrumhalf.
Kurt Coleman will provide flyhalf cover for Van Aswegen.
The clash at Newlands kicks off at 17:05 on Saturday.
Teams:
Stormers:
15. Joe Pietersen, 14. Damian de Allende, 13. Juan de Jongh, 12. Jean de Villiers (captain), 11. Gio Aplon, 10. Gary van Aswegen, 9. Dewaldt Duvenage, 8. Duane Vermeulen, 7. Michael Rhodes, 6. Siya Kolisi, 5. Andries Bekker, 4. De Kock Steenkamp, 3. Frans Malherbe, 2. Deon Fourie, 1. Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16. Martin Bezuidenhout, 17. Pat Cilliers, 18. Gerbrandt Grobler, 19. Nizaam Carr, 20. Louis Schreuder, 21. Kurt Coleman, 22. Cheslin Kolbe
Sharks:
15. Francois Steyn, 14. Sean Robinson, 13. Paul Jordaan, 12. Meyer Bosman, 11. JP Pietersen, 10. Patrick Lambie, 9. Cobus Reinach, 8. Keegan Daniel (captain), 7. Ryan Kankowski, 6. Marcell Coetzee, 5. Franco van der Merwe, 4. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. Kyle Cooper, 1. Tendai Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16. Craig Burden, 17. Wiehahn Herbst, 18. Anton Bresler, 19. Jean Deysel, 20. Charl McLeod, 21. Riaan Viljoen, 22. Odwa Ndungane
Van Aswegen, 23, was on Wednesday named as Stormers pivot with Elton Jantjies and Peter Grant sidelined due to injuries.
Van Aswegen has himself been plagued by injuries in his relatively short career, only registering seven appearances (three as starting flyhalf) since making his Stormers debut in 2011.
VIDEO: The Stormers' plea
However, De Villiers, who will play outside him at inside centre told Die Burger's website Van Aswegen has "all the skills" in the book to be successful at Super Rugby level.
"He won't let you down on defence, he has a good pass and kicks well tactically.
"Hopefully myself and Dewaldt (Duvenage) can support him well on either side.
"Gary will effectively run the show. I'm excited about that and sure he will do well," said De Villiers.
Duvenage was elevated to the starting lineup, replacing Nic Groom, who had a horror match against the Cheetahs last weekend. Groom drops out of the match-day 22 altogether, with Louis Schreuder the reserve scrumhalf.
Kurt Coleman will provide flyhalf cover for Van Aswegen.
The clash at Newlands kicks off at 17:05 on Saturday.
Teams:
Stormers:
15. Joe Pietersen, 14. Damian de Allende, 13. Juan de Jongh, 12. Jean de Villiers (captain), 11. Gio Aplon, 10. Gary van Aswegen, 9. Dewaldt Duvenage, 8. Duane Vermeulen, 7. Michael Rhodes, 6. Siya Kolisi, 5. Andries Bekker, 4. De Kock Steenkamp, 3. Frans Malherbe, 2. Deon Fourie, 1. Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16. Martin Bezuidenhout, 17. Pat Cilliers, 18. Gerbrandt Grobler, 19. Nizaam Carr, 20. Louis Schreuder, 21. Kurt Coleman, 22. Cheslin Kolbe
Sharks:
15. Francois Steyn, 14. Sean Robinson, 13. Paul Jordaan, 12. Meyer Bosman, 11. JP Pietersen, 10. Patrick Lambie, 9. Cobus Reinach, 8. Keegan Daniel (captain), 7. Ryan Kankowski, 6. Marcell Coetzee, 5. Franco van der Merwe, 4. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. Kyle Cooper, 1. Tendai Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16. Craig Burden, 17. Wiehahn Herbst, 18. Anton Bresler, 19. Jean Deysel, 20. Charl McLeod, 21. Riaan Viljoen, 22. Odwa Ndungane
