The Stormers will welcome back Eben Etzebeth and JD Schickerling for Saturday’s north-south Super Rugby derby against the Bulls at Newlands.
Having lost both Salmaan Moerat (concussion) and Kobus van Dyk (cheekbone) to injury in their 19-17 defeat to the Brumbies at the weekend, the return of the duo couldn’t have come at a better time for coach Robbie Fleck.
It will serve as a welcome boost to a team in need of a pick-me-up.
Full of confidence after their 41-24 win over the Rebels in the last match of their tour of Australasia, the Stormers dominated the Brumbies but again failed to convert their chances.
With the Brumbies having gone 12-0 up inside the first 10 minutes - thanks to tries by Pete Samu and Rory Arnold - the visitors went on the defensive and allowed the Stormers to enjoy 66 percent of the possession.
FRUSTRATED: Brumbies match. Photo: Backpagepix.
Furthermore, the Brumbies made 224 tackles to the 91 of the Stormers, keeping out Fleck’s charges - much to the frustration of the coach.
He says: “They didn’t play much, they slowed the game down and the ref allowed them to do that.
“We got plenty of penalties every time we got in the 22 and I felt there should have been a yellow [card] earlier in the game to sort that out.
“They survived by slowing the game down and conceding penalties.
“It was a pretty frustrating game in that regard.”
The Stormers, though, failed to make the best of their chances.
They did eventually get a penalty try on the stroke of half time, when scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies was on the receiving end of a high tackle on his way to the try-line.
REPLACEMENT: JD Schickerling back in squad. Photo: Backpagepix.
A try by tight-head prop Wilco Louw five minutes after the break saw the Stormers take the lead (17-12) for the first time in the match after an early penalty kick by Joshua Stander.
But then fullback Tom Banks broke the Stormers’ hearts in the 57th minute when he got the ball out wide after the Brumbies took it through 11 phases to score the winning touchdown.
Of his side, Fleck adds: “We’re not running away from the fact that we should have executed better. We got stripped off the ball too many times and should have done more with it.”