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Stephen Nell
Cape Town - Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie are fit, Peter Grant will hopefully be operating at 100% by the end of the week and Springbok prop CJ van der Linde is on his way home.
That is the latest from the Stormers camp, with young prop Frans Malherbe having been called up to join the Cape side for the rest of their tour Down Under in the Super Rugby tournament.
"CJ would not have been ready for this weekend's game (against the Brumbies) and I don't have any guarantee that he will be for next weekend's game (against the Melbourne Rebels)," Stormers coach Allister Coetzee said from Sydney.
"We're therefore giving him a full two weeks so that we will have him fit for the important games against the Bulls and Cheetahs when we return to South Africa. Frans Malherbe played for us earlier in the tournament and slots back in with us."
The Stormers at least have an experienced tighthead prop in Brok Harris to pack down against the Brumbies, so it's not a crisis to lose Van der Linde with a short-term injury.
Coetzee is facing a tricky selection poser as far as the make-up of his midfield is concerned as De Villiers and Fourie took full part in Monday's training session.
However, Grant did not take full part in the session, but Coetzee hopes that good management of the flyhalf could see him ready to run out against the Brumbies in Canberra.
"Peter participated in about 50% of the session and we want to manage him in such a manner that he's operating at 100% come Friday's captains run," said Coetzee.
Youngster Kurt Coleman joined up with the team over the weekend and provides cover at flyhalf and fullback.
Meanwhile, Coetzee has admitted that it will be a "bit of a headache" to pick a centre pairing this weekend.
That follows the excellent performances by Juan de Jongh and Johann Sadie in the absence of De Villiers and Fourie in the 28-26 win over the Blues in Auckland.
De Jongh is already a Springbok and it will be difficult to drop him after such a superb performance.
Perhaps Coetzee will spend more time entertaining the thought of picking either De Villiers or Fourie on the wing. That will allow him to move Gio Aplon to fullback and give his backline more attacking clout.
Sadie, of course, has played well at both centre and wing, but could be a terrific impact player as opponents will still be uncertain of how to prepare for him.
Coetzee will analyse the Brumbies thoroughly prior to deciding on a centre pairing.
While the Brumbies are enduring a nightmare season, the Stormers have never been able to beat them in Canberra. It is therefore an incentive for the Capetonians to walk off the field as victors on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Western province director of coaching Rassie Erasmus has denied speculation in the media that Saracens' former Springbok flyhalf Derick Hougaard or Irish fullback Rob Kearney could have linked up with the Stormers.
"Definitely not," Erasmus answered when quizzed about the reports.
The Stormers were also interested in striking a loan deal for Ulster's Springbok star Ruan Pienaar, but no agreement was reached.
Cape Town - Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie are fit, Peter Grant will hopefully be operating at 100% by the end of the week and Springbok prop CJ van der Linde is on his way home.
That is the latest from the Stormers camp, with young prop Frans Malherbe having been called up to join the Cape side for the rest of their tour Down Under in the Super Rugby tournament.
"CJ would not have been ready for this weekend's game (against the Brumbies) and I don't have any guarantee that he will be for next weekend's game (against the Melbourne Rebels)," Stormers coach Allister Coetzee said from Sydney.
"We're therefore giving him a full two weeks so that we will have him fit for the important games against the Bulls and Cheetahs when we return to South Africa. Frans Malherbe played for us earlier in the tournament and slots back in with us."
The Stormers at least have an experienced tighthead prop in Brok Harris to pack down against the Brumbies, so it's not a crisis to lose Van der Linde with a short-term injury.
Coetzee is facing a tricky selection poser as far as the make-up of his midfield is concerned as De Villiers and Fourie took full part in Monday's training session.
However, Grant did not take full part in the session, but Coetzee hopes that good management of the flyhalf could see him ready to run out against the Brumbies in Canberra.
"Peter participated in about 50% of the session and we want to manage him in such a manner that he's operating at 100% come Friday's captains run," said Coetzee.
Youngster Kurt Coleman joined up with the team over the weekend and provides cover at flyhalf and fullback.
Meanwhile, Coetzee has admitted that it will be a "bit of a headache" to pick a centre pairing this weekend.
That follows the excellent performances by Juan de Jongh and Johann Sadie in the absence of De Villiers and Fourie in the 28-26 win over the Blues in Auckland.
De Jongh is already a Springbok and it will be difficult to drop him after such a superb performance.
Perhaps Coetzee will spend more time entertaining the thought of picking either De Villiers or Fourie on the wing. That will allow him to move Gio Aplon to fullback and give his backline more attacking clout.
Sadie, of course, has played well at both centre and wing, but could be a terrific impact player as opponents will still be uncertain of how to prepare for him.
Coetzee will analyse the Brumbies thoroughly prior to deciding on a centre pairing.
While the Brumbies are enduring a nightmare season, the Stormers have never been able to beat them in Canberra. It is therefore an incentive for the Capetonians to walk off the field as victors on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Western province director of coaching Rassie Erasmus has denied speculation in the media that Saracens' former Springbok flyhalf Derick Hougaard or Irish fullback Rob Kearney could have linked up with the Stormers.
"Definitely not," Erasmus answered when quizzed about the reports.
The Stormers were also interested in striking a loan deal for Ulster's Springbok star Ruan Pienaar, but no agreement was reached.
