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What to expect from Cobus Wiese

Cape Town - The Stormers are fielding a young side against the Sunwolves in Singapore on Saturday, but not all of it is down to squad rotation and giving youth a chance. 

Coach Robbie Fleck has more than his fair share of injuries to deal with, while the Springbok management plan means that the likes of Eben Etzebeth and Pieter-Steph du Toit are also not on duty this weekend. 

It means that a number of fringe players will be given a run, and one that seems to be generating a lot of interest is that of 19-year-old Cobus Wiese. 

That may be down to the fact that his name bears a striking resemblance to that of 1995 World Cup winner Kobus Wiese. 

Rumour has it that Cobus was actually named after Kobus. 

While Cobus, like Kobus, can play in the second row, Fleck sees No 7 as his best position. 

Wiese has been named on the bench for Saturday's clash, but Stormers management have been waiting for an opportunity to test the SA U-20 squad (2016) product. 

"He was outstanding in pre-season for us and he's played a fair amount," Fleck said.

"This is the perfect opportunity for him to come off the bench. He's got a massive work ethic.

"He's a big boy and he throws his body around which is needed up here. The conditions will suit him. He's one of the fittest players in the squad and he has a massive work rate."

Fleck added that Wiese's versatility would come in handy moving forward. 

"He's been mixing around for us. He played predominantly at No 4 in the pre-season, but his best position going forward is No 7, without a doubt," said Fleck.

"That's where he's played most of his rugby. The fact that he can play at No 4 is awesome. He's a player that we are really, really excited about.

"He's quick, he's mobile, he's fit, he's strong, he's aggressive ... he's still got a lot to learn but we were very impressed with him in the pre-season. I'd like to give him a bit more of a run but he's going to have to fight it out there amongst those loose forwards. He's somebody we really want to develop for the future."

The new faces in the squad, Fleck said, would bring a renewed energy to the Stormers as they look to avoid their result in this fixture last year when they drew 17-17.

"We've made it quite clear that it is a tough place to come and play because of the environment and the opposition," said Fleck.

"The new faces bring lots of energy and they're excited to get out there and play. The young guys are going to get out there and get an opportunity to stake a claim and that also brings a lot of energy."

Kick-off on Saturday is at 12:55.

Teams:

Sunwolves

15 Jamie-Jerry Taulagi, 14 Shota Emi, 13 Timothy Lafaele, 12 Derek Carpenter, 11 Kenki Fukuoka, 10 Jumpei Ogura, 9 Keisuke Uchida, 8 Willie Britz, 7 Shokei Kin, 6 Ed Quirk (captain), 5 Sam Wykes, 4 Liaki Moli, 3 Heiichiro Ito, 2 Yusuke Niwai, 1 Koki Yamamoto

Substitutes: 16 Atsushi Sakate, 17 Masataka Mikami, 18 Takuma Asahara, 19 Uwe Helu, 20 Shumei Matsuhashi, 21 Kaito Shigeno, 22 Hayden Cripps, 23 Ryohei Yamanaka

Stormers

15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 Bjorn Basson, 13 EW Viljoen, 12 Dan Kriel, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Siya Kolisi (captain), 6 Rynhardt Elstadt, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Chris van Zyl, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg

Substitutes: 16 Ramone Samuels, 17 Caylib Oosthuizen, 18 Oli Kebble, 19 Jan de Klerk, 20 Cobus Wiese, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Kurt Coleman, 23 Dan du Plessis

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