Publications
Partners
Cape Town - Stormers coach Robbie Fleck says he looked around South Africa for a centre, but a lack of options meant he was forced to look abroad.
One of the players the Stormers approached was former Springbok JJ Engelbrecht, currently with Welsh club Ospreys, but those negotiations fell through.
In the end, the Cape Town-based franchise lured former Highlanders centre Shaun Treeby to Newlands.
The Stormers have somewhat of a midfield crisis with Damian de Allende, Juan de Jongh and Huw Jones all out injured.
The young trio of EW Viljoen, Dan du Plessis and Dan Kriel have been doing the job, but Fleck has been seeking some experience in that channel as a tough run of fixtures against New Zealand opposition approaches.
"That’s a vast amount of experience (lost), especially at Super Ruby level," Fleck said of his injured centres.
"If we have one more injury in the midfield we need to get a replacement in immediately and with Shaun Treeby, he’s got vast Super Rugby experience.
"He’s got over 50 caps for the Highlanders. We did look in South African and within our own borders for a replacement but with the type of experience we needed and the type of midfielder we needed, we went with Shaun Treeby."
Fleck confirmed that Treeby would not be a part of this Saturday's clash against the Chiefs at Newlands.
Kick-off is at 17:15.
