Publications
Partners
Cape Town - Reds coach Ewen McKenzie says the "unknown" factor in the Stormers squad is making him wary of the Cape side ahead of their Super Rugby clash at Newlands on Saturday.
Several injuries in the Stormers camp has forced coach Allister Coetzee to make wholesale changes to his struggling side, who are currently languishing in 11th spot on the overall log.
The Stormers have 15 frontline players out injured, which forced Coetzee to draft in players with little Super Rugby experience.
Lock Gerbrandt Grobler starts his first game for the Stormers, while prop Chris Heiberg and flank Rohan Kitshoff - both from Western Province's Vodacom Cup side - await their Super Rugby debuts.
They also drafted in lock Marius Coetzer from the Pumas.
"We've been hit really hard by injuries, but we're looking forward to (new) players bringing in new energy this weekend," Coetzee said earlier this week.
"As a coach you make do with what you have and remain positive about the (next) fixture, but the reality is that we're currently sitting with 15 players that are unavailable."
However, despite Coetzee feeling despondent about his injury crisis, his counterpart, McKenzie sees things from a different angle.
"I have sympathy for the Stormers' injury crisis, but you never know when a new Victor Matfield might emerge from the younger players," McKenzie said on Die Burger's website.
"We don't know much of a few of the players selected by the Stormers this week. The unknown factor makes it an uncomfortable game for us."
Kick-off is at 17:05 on Saturday.
Teams:
Stormers:
15. Joe Pietersen, 14. Gio Aplon, 13. Jean de Villiers (captain), 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Elton Jantjies, 9. Louis Schreuder, 8. Nizaam Carr, 7. Don Armand, 6. Siya Kolisi, 5. Eben Etzebeth, 4. Gerbrandt Grobler, 3. Brok Harris, 2. Tiaan Liebenberg, 1. Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16. Martin Bezuidenhout, 17. Chris Heiberg, 18. Marius Coetzer, 19. Rohan Kitshoff, 20. Dewaldt Duvenage, 21. Gary van Aswegen, 22. Gerhard van den Heever
Reds:
15. Jonathan Lance, 14. Rod Davies, 13. Chris Feauai-Sautia, 12. Anthony Faingaa, 11. Luke Morahan, 10. Quade Cooper, 9. Will Genia, 8. Radike Samo, 7. Liam Gill, 6. Jake Schatz, 5. James Horwill (captain), 4. Rob Simmons, 3. James Slipper, 2. Saia Faingaa, 1. Greg Holmes
Substitutes: 16. James Hanson, 17. Ben Daley, 18. Ed O`Donoghue, 19. Ed Quirk, 20. Beau Robinson, 21. Ben Lucas, 22. Ben Tapuai
Several injuries in the Stormers camp has forced coach Allister Coetzee to make wholesale changes to his struggling side, who are currently languishing in 11th spot on the overall log.
The Stormers have 15 frontline players out injured, which forced Coetzee to draft in players with little Super Rugby experience.
Lock Gerbrandt Grobler starts his first game for the Stormers, while prop Chris Heiberg and flank Rohan Kitshoff - both from Western Province's Vodacom Cup side - await their Super Rugby debuts.
They also drafted in lock Marius Coetzer from the Pumas.
"We've been hit really hard by injuries, but we're looking forward to (new) players bringing in new energy this weekend," Coetzee said earlier this week.
"As a coach you make do with what you have and remain positive about the (next) fixture, but the reality is that we're currently sitting with 15 players that are unavailable."
However, despite Coetzee feeling despondent about his injury crisis, his counterpart, McKenzie sees things from a different angle.
"I have sympathy for the Stormers' injury crisis, but you never know when a new Victor Matfield might emerge from the younger players," McKenzie said on Die Burger's website.
"We don't know much of a few of the players selected by the Stormers this week. The unknown factor makes it an uncomfortable game for us."
Kick-off is at 17:05 on Saturday.
Teams:
Stormers:
15. Joe Pietersen, 14. Gio Aplon, 13. Jean de Villiers (captain), 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Elton Jantjies, 9. Louis Schreuder, 8. Nizaam Carr, 7. Don Armand, 6. Siya Kolisi, 5. Eben Etzebeth, 4. Gerbrandt Grobler, 3. Brok Harris, 2. Tiaan Liebenberg, 1. Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16. Martin Bezuidenhout, 17. Chris Heiberg, 18. Marius Coetzer, 19. Rohan Kitshoff, 20. Dewaldt Duvenage, 21. Gary van Aswegen, 22. Gerhard van den Heever
Reds:
15. Jonathan Lance, 14. Rod Davies, 13. Chris Feauai-Sautia, 12. Anthony Faingaa, 11. Luke Morahan, 10. Quade Cooper, 9. Will Genia, 8. Radike Samo, 7. Liam Gill, 6. Jake Schatz, 5. James Horwill (captain), 4. Rob Simmons, 3. James Slipper, 2. Saia Faingaa, 1. Greg Holmes
Substitutes: 16. James Hanson, 17. Ben Daley, 18. Ed O`Donoghue, 19. Ed Quirk, 20. Beau Robinson, 21. Ben Lucas, 22. Ben Tapuai
