Rassie Erasmus have chosen the strongest possible Stormers team possible to face the English club Saracens in the friendly Super 14 warm-up match at Newlands on Sunday.

Percy Montgomery will get a chance to return to the Stormers No15 jersey in the absence of the injured Springbok fullback Conrad Jantjes and Schalk Burger will be out for another week with a foot complaint, otherwise the team looks a close replica of the one likely to start the Super 14 campaign against the Sharks on Valentine’s Day.

Duane Vermeulen, the star loose-forward newcomer from the Cheetahs, will start in the No7 jersey, with Francois Louw being entrusted with the task of taking over Burger’s openside duties for this match.

“As you know, in our side the No8 is the openside,” joked Erasmus, who has often expressed the opinion that numbers on the back mean little to the loose-forward configuration.

“Francois will have the job of doing most of the work of the openside flanker in this game, but they will help each other out and do a bit of both.”

Vermeulen is normally a No8, so it is interesting to see Luke Watson retained at No8. What will be even more interesting, however, will be to see what Erasmus does with his selection once Burger is fit again.

As anticipated, Erasmus is giving Tongan Alipate Fatafehi, who apparently showed some good touches in an opposed practice session against UCT last weekend, a chance to show what he can do in a match situation.

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The Pumas have answered the Sharks call to play against them in a Super 14 warm-up match to replace the match that had been cancelled against the Cheetahs.

The Sharks were due to face the Bloemfontein team in Dubai this weekend at the start of the onfield part of their preparation phase to the southern hemisphere competition, but it was cancelled when the sponsors pulled out due to financial pressure created by the credit crunch.

Sharks coach John Plumtree was angered when the Cheetahs then organised a match against Griquas rather than agree to an alternative venue to their scheduled clash.

On Monday, however, the Pumas came to the Sharks’ aid by agreeing to host them in Witbank on Saturday.

The match won’t provide quite the same intensity the Sharks may have been hoping for from a game against the Cheetahs, but the switch in plan may be a blessing in disguise as it offers Plumtree an opportunity to run a line through the several young players who are coming through the system in Durban.

“It may not be the same intensity as a game against the Cheetahs, but we do have a game against the Bulls scheduled for the following week anyway, so we should get the required intensity from that,” said Plumtree on Monday afternoon.

“There have been several High Performance Centre players who have really impressed me in the past few months of the off-season, and this will be a great opportunity for me to see them play in match conditions.”

Plumtree said that up to 12 of the top Sharks players will sit out the Pumas match, which means the Witbank exercise will provide the franchise with a great test of its depth. But the young players will not be completely without star teammates from whom they can learn.

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6 February has been set as the date for the anouncement of the five South African Super 14 squads.

The announcement was made following a meeting between SA Rugby personnel and franchise coaches and chief executives in Johannesburg.

“It was a very good, positive meeting which allowed us to update the teams on Super Rugby matters and confirm a date for the naming of squads,” said Andy Marinos, the acting managing director of SA Rugby.

“The teams updated us on their injury situations and in the first week of February there will be a series of meetings between the individual coaches, Peter de Villiers, the selectors and myself before the submission of the final squads on February 6.”

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Rassie Erasmus, Stormers coach might have a few tricks up his sleeve for the warm-up game against Saracens at Newlands on the 25th January 2009.

Nick Koster, who made his Western Province debut at No 8 last year, is training among the backline players. Erasmus could experiment with him on the wing.

Tongan sevens player Alipate Fatafehi also linked up with the Stormers for a trial this week. He stands 1.93m tall and weighs 112kg.

“He’s training with us this week. He’s a big guy that can play centre, wing and fullback,” said Erasmus.

He added that Fatafehi “might” stay on with the Stormers. At this stage he is set to leave Cape Town on Sunday.

That could depend on the impression he leaves on the Stormers coaching staff this week. If he stays on, he could be used against Saracens.

Erasmus is expected to pick a strong side for the game against the English club side. It’s possible that the number of substitutes allowed may not be limited to seven.

“Nick is 19, weighs 106kg and runs the 100m in 11 seconds. He is a great player in the making,” said Erasmus.

“There are currently plenty of loose forwards around that are big, strong and physical. I want to try a few things with Nick. He has the skills of a backline player.

“Perhaps he’s a little inexperienced, but physically he is the equal of any backline player in South Africa.”

If the experiment works, Erasmus may even use Koster there in the Super14, with Gcobani Bobo and Sireli Naqelevuki possibly competing for the No 13 jersey.

Naqelevuki did well for WP when he played centre in Bobo’s absence during last year’s Currie Cup.

A handful of Stormers are still struggling with injury niggles.

Flyhalf Willem de Waal (hand) and fullback Conrad Jantjes (groin) are likely to miss the game against Saracens.

Centre Jean de Villiers (groin) and flank Schalk Burger (ankle) both have niggles, but should be ready.

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A new rugby franchise will be launched in June for the Eastern Cape, being a joint venture between the Eastern Province and Border Rugby Unions in consultation and with the backing of the South African Rugby Union with the aim to join Super Rugby.

The new franchise will be launched in Port Elizabeth on June 16/17 to coincide with the presence of the British & Irish Lions in the city for a match against a Coastal XV. The date of the match against the Lions is expected to be confirmed shortly.

The meeting was chaired by Mark Alexander, the deputy president of SARU, and attended by Cheeky Watson, the president of Eastern Province, SARU president Oregan Hoskins, SARU vice-president Rautie Rautenbach and Andy Marinos, acting managing director of SA Rugby.

“It was an extremely positive meeting and there was broad agreement on the way forward,” said Mr Alexander. “All parties see the proper placing and establishment of sound structures as a key priority to ensure the success of the South Eastern Cape franchise.

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Former Stormers and Western Province player and current Saracens scrumhalf Neil de Kock won’t visit Newlands on the 25th January because of a broken arm.
“Neil will be out of action for ten weeks. It’s a huge blow for us. He’s a very important player in our side,” said Eddie Jones, Saracens director of rugby.
Saracens thrashed Bristol 37-13 on Sunday and are now sixth on the English log.
Former Wallaby coach Jones said there was a strong possibility that ex-Springbok tighthead prop Cobus Visagie would play for Saracens against the Stormers.
Visagie was a pillar of strength for the Stormers and Western Province for years before his decision to move to England.
He is now in the twilight of his career as player and is assisting with the coaching of Saracens’ forwards.
He was used as a substitute against Bristol and is still a powerful scrummager.
“Cobus is likely to be involved,” said Jones.
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Speculation in the media this weekend that Heyneke Meyer might be linked for a position at the Eastern Cape Super 14 franchise the Southern Spears is nothing more than premature speculation.

Weekend reports suggested that Meyer was being considered for the position of Director of Rugby for the franchise formerly known as the Southern Spears.

However, this has been dismissed as “premature speculation” by a source close to Meyer, who said the coach will not make a decision about his future until his current situation is resolved.

Meyer returned to South Africa during the busy United Kingdom festive season because of serious family illness.

In a media release at the time the Board of Leicester Tigers said it respects Meyer’s position and the club offers him and his family its full support.

“The extent of his absence will be assessed over the next two weeks and kept under review,” the statement said.

Meyer’s future at Tigers was thrown further in doubt after club chairman Peter Tom confirmed that he was unsure when, or if, the South African would be returning. Tom, at the time, suggested that Meyer would not be back before February at the very earliest.

The Leicester chairman, Tom, conceded the situation “put a doubt” over Meyer continuing with the club which he only joined before the start of this season following the departure of former Argentina coach Marcelo Loffreda.

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The Lions of Gauteng have received a very favourable draw for the Super 14 season, but the hard working captain Cobus Grobbelaar does not see this as automatic success.

“The Lions, and their Super 12 predecessors the Cats, have not finished inside the top 10 since 2001 – the last of their two appearances in the play-offs. And a 14th-place finish last year still rankles with the Johannesburg-based franchise.

And they could not have wished for a more favourable draw – their first six matches in South Africa, including facing the Cheetahs, Bulls, Brumbies and Hurricanes on home turf in Johannesburg.

Their other matches on South African soil are against the Sharks (in Durban) and the Stormers (in Cape Town), venues where they’ve had success in the past.

“Yes, we certainly do have a favourable draw,” says Grobbelaar.

“It definitely is better, but it is always in your own hands – we still have to make it happen.

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The Stormers‘ run of good form at the end of last year’s Super 14 have given the Stormers and their captain Jean de Villiers alot of confidence nearing this year’s campaign.

“De Villiers, 2008′s South African Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year, highlighted the importance of home victories in the Super 14 and says the Stormers are perfectly placed to build on the winning culture they created at Newlands in the latter stages of the 2008 season.

“When we came back from the overseas leg we did not lose a match at Newlands.

“We also won every game in the Currie Cup with our strongest team for Western Province. So it does give us a lot of confidence,” he said.

De Villiers was the Stormers’ star player in 2008, which was also his first season as captain. He then starred in the Boks’ Tri-Nations campaign and led Western Province in the Currie Cup before the Boks’ year-end tour.

With the British & Irish Lions series looming, De Villiers is among a core group of Springboks that needs to be carefully managed.

However, the 27-year-old says he won’t be asking for any sabbaticals in this year’s southern hemisphere showpiece.

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Stormers and Springbok loose forward Luke Watson escaped unhurt from a light accident in Bellville on Monday afternoon.
Watson’s black BMW was damaged, however, after another motorist allegedly skipped a red light and hit the front left of the Springbok’s car. Stormers spokesperson Frikkie Erasmus confirmed the incident.

“Nobody has been hurt. The front of Luke’s car has been damaged. There were some surprised onlookers when they saw Luke and some of his teammates at the scene,” said Erasmus.
Watson was calm afterwards and relieved that his car had not been reduced to a wreck.

“The person drove over a red light. It was at the intersection of Jip de Jager Lane and Voortrekker Street. My teammates teased me as they came past,” said Watson.

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