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Cape Town - Hooker Scarra Ntubeni and wing Sailosi Tagicakibau are back in the selection frame for the Stormers ahead of this coming weekend's home Super Rugby clash against the Highlanders, the Stormers' official website reports.
Ntubeni has not featured for the Stormers since their tour-opener against the Crusaders back in early March, but his return - along with Tagicakibau’s - will be a major boost to his team.
The Stormers went down 35-22 to the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein last weekend
“The loss (to the Cheetahs) was very disappointing. The big concern for us was how flat-footed we were in the last thirty minutes of the first half after our excellent start.
“It’s very important for us to bounce back with a win this week - from a mental point of view - and we will be giving it our all once again come the weekend. The big thing is that the game cannot function if your set-piece doesn’t function consistently well.
“Last week (against the Lions) our set-piece did much better than this week (against the Cheetahs) and that is a bit of a frustration. I know we are missing players and we don’t want to talk about it week in and week out but it is a reality," concluded Coetzee.
Saturday's clash against the Highlanders kicks off at 15:00.
Full Stormers injury report:
- Hooker Scarra Ntubeni (calf muscle) and wing Sailosi Tagicakibau (sternum) are fit and available for selection once again.
- Flyhalf Catrakilis (broken nose) will probably need one more week before he can take full contact.
- Wing Cheslin Kolbe (knee) needs one more week to prove his fitness and will have his workload increased this week to make sure he is 100% ready.
- Hooker Tiaan Liebenberg (neck), prop Pat Cilliers (knee), locks Eben Etzebeth (foot), Rynhardt Elstadt (shoulder), De Kock Steenkamp (groin), Manuel Carizza (wrist), Jean Kleyn (ankle) and Gerbrandt Grobler (leg/shoulder) and wing/fullback Gio Aplon (elbow) are still unavailable for selection.
Ntubeni has not featured for the Stormers since their tour-opener against the Crusaders back in early March, but his return - along with Tagicakibau’s - will be a major boost to his team.
The Stormers went down 35-22 to the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein last weekend
“The loss (to the Cheetahs) was very disappointing. The big concern for us was how flat-footed we were in the last thirty minutes of the first half after our excellent start.
“It’s very important for us to bounce back with a win this week - from a mental point of view - and we will be giving it our all once again come the weekend. The big thing is that the game cannot function if your set-piece doesn’t function consistently well.
“Last week (against the Lions) our set-piece did much better than this week (against the Cheetahs) and that is a bit of a frustration. I know we are missing players and we don’t want to talk about it week in and week out but it is a reality," concluded Coetzee.
Saturday's clash against the Highlanders kicks off at 15:00.
Full Stormers injury report:
- Hooker Scarra Ntubeni (calf muscle) and wing Sailosi Tagicakibau (sternum) are fit and available for selection once again.
- Flyhalf Catrakilis (broken nose) will probably need one more week before he can take full contact.
- Wing Cheslin Kolbe (knee) needs one more week to prove his fitness and will have his workload increased this week to make sure he is 100% ready.
- Hooker Tiaan Liebenberg (neck), prop Pat Cilliers (knee), locks Eben Etzebeth (foot), Rynhardt Elstadt (shoulder), De Kock Steenkamp (groin), Manuel Carizza (wrist), Jean Kleyn (ankle) and Gerbrandt Grobler (leg/shoulder) and wing/fullback Gio Aplon (elbow) are still unavailable for selection.
