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Gavin Rich - SuperSport
Johannesburg - The Stormers will be travelling to Bloemfontein to play their last Super Rugby league match of 2011 with what looks, on paper at least, like their strongest team of the season.
As anticipated, Peter Grant is back at flyhalf, with Dewaldt Duvenage joining him in the halfback pairing at the expense of the struggling Ricky Januarie, who in any event has been ruled out of selection because of injury.
What might not have been so anticipated, but should be welcomed by those hoping to see the Stormers realise their attacking potential as they head towards the Super Rugby Finals Series. Gio Aplon, always more of an attacking force from fullback than he is from the wing, goes to the last line of defence, with Jean de Villiers joining the back as the right wing.
De Villiers moves to the No 14 jersey to accommodate Juan de Jongh in the midfield. There is only one change to the pack, with Tiaan Liebenberg returning at hooker for Deon Fourie.
“We are in the fortunate situation of having both of our hookers playing well, but we feel that at altitude we might need impact, and Deon does bring that impact when introduced late in a game,” said coach Allister Coetzee.
“The selection of Gio at fullback is one you can describe as a horses for courses selection. The Bloemfontein field is known for its dryness and hardness and Gio is the sort of player who can create and play into gaps and who can play into space on the counter-attack.”
Coetzee said earlier in the year that he would play his Springbok centres in their preferred positions as far as possible, but said that this game demanded something different.
“It is an important game and we want to have our best players on the field from the start,” said Coetzee.
“It’s great to have Peter Grant back as he brings a steadiness and, believe it or not because our defence is good without him, he also considerably improves our defence.”
Teams:
Cheetahs:
15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Riaan Viljoen, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Barry Geel, 11 Rayno Benjamin, 10 Sias Ebersohn, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Davon Raubenheimer, 7 Ashley Johnson, 6 Johan Wessels, 5 Martin Muller, 4 Francois Uys, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Coenie Oosthuizen.
Substitutes: 16 Ryno Barnes, 17 Lourens Adriaanse, 18 Izak van der Westhuizen, 19 Pieter Myburgh, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Corné Uys, 22 Riaan Smit
Stormers:
15 Gio Aplon, 14 Jean de Villiers, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Juan de Jongh, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Dewaldt Duvenhage, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Rynhardt Elstadt, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Wicus Blaauw
Substitutes: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Frans Malherbe, 18 Anton van Zyl, 19 Nick Koster, 20 Louis Schreuder, 21 Johann Sadie, 22 Conrad Jantjes
Johannesburg - The Stormers will be travelling to Bloemfontein to play their last Super Rugby league match of 2011 with what looks, on paper at least, like their strongest team of the season.
As anticipated, Peter Grant is back at flyhalf, with Dewaldt Duvenage joining him in the halfback pairing at the expense of the struggling Ricky Januarie, who in any event has been ruled out of selection because of injury.
What might not have been so anticipated, but should be welcomed by those hoping to see the Stormers realise their attacking potential as they head towards the Super Rugby Finals Series. Gio Aplon, always more of an attacking force from fullback than he is from the wing, goes to the last line of defence, with Jean de Villiers joining the back as the right wing.
De Villiers moves to the No 14 jersey to accommodate Juan de Jongh in the midfield. There is only one change to the pack, with Tiaan Liebenberg returning at hooker for Deon Fourie.
“We are in the fortunate situation of having both of our hookers playing well, but we feel that at altitude we might need impact, and Deon does bring that impact when introduced late in a game,” said coach Allister Coetzee.
“The selection of Gio at fullback is one you can describe as a horses for courses selection. The Bloemfontein field is known for its dryness and hardness and Gio is the sort of player who can create and play into gaps and who can play into space on the counter-attack.”
Coetzee said earlier in the year that he would play his Springbok centres in their preferred positions as far as possible, but said that this game demanded something different.
“It is an important game and we want to have our best players on the field from the start,” said Coetzee.
“It’s great to have Peter Grant back as he brings a steadiness and, believe it or not because our defence is good without him, he also considerably improves our defence.”
Teams:
Cheetahs:
15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Riaan Viljoen, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Barry Geel, 11 Rayno Benjamin, 10 Sias Ebersohn, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Davon Raubenheimer, 7 Ashley Johnson, 6 Johan Wessels, 5 Martin Muller, 4 Francois Uys, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Coenie Oosthuizen.
Substitutes: 16 Ryno Barnes, 17 Lourens Adriaanse, 18 Izak van der Westhuizen, 19 Pieter Myburgh, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Corné Uys, 22 Riaan Smit
Stormers:
15 Gio Aplon, 14 Jean de Villiers, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Juan de Jongh, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Dewaldt Duvenhage, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Rynhardt Elstadt, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Wicus Blaauw
Substitutes: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Frans Malherbe, 18 Anton van Zyl, 19 Nick Koster, 20 Louis Schreuder, 21 Johann Sadie, 22 Conrad Jantjes
