AUDIO: Stormers sweating over Bok star
INJURY UPDATE: The Stormers look set to be without the services of a Springbok superstar for their trip to Argentina.
Springbok stalwart Pieter-Steph du Toit is facing a fitness test on Monday, before the team is announced for the Round 12 trip to Buenos Aires and an encounter with the Jaguares.
Du Toit suffered a shoulder injury and was replaced in the 58th minute of the Stormers’ 24-23 win over the Bulls at Newlands at the weekend – when Bulls lock Rudolph Snyman landed on top of him, after a collision in a contest for the ball in the air.
Stormers coach Robbie Fleck told a post-match media briefing that more clarity over the extent of the injury will be provided on Monday.
“We are going to chat to the medical staff first,” Fleck said.
Du Toit is a key member of the Stormers squad – providing both physicality in the pack and enormous workrate.
Against the Bulls, he made 16 tackles, many dominant, numerous carries and plenty of valuable metres with the ball in hand.
If he was to miss the trip to Argentina, it will be a huge blow to the Stormers.
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Fleck admitted his team finds itself in a must-win situation for the remained of the season, especially with the congested nature of the South African conference.
“The Sharks are ahead of us at 26 [points], so we are going to have to win all our games,” he said of a race to the play-offs.
He admitted it will be a tall order to overtake the Sharks, Bulls and Jaguares, while also staying ahead of the Lions in the remaining seven weeks.
“We are going to have to win this conference by more than one point so we are going to keep working hard to get there,” Fleck said.
After this week’s encounter with the Jaguares, the Stormers host the Crusaders and Highlanders at Newlands, face the Lions in Johannesburg, before completing their fixtures against the Sunwolves and Sharks in Cape Town.
He said the bulk of the squad that won against the Bulls will travel to Argentina.
“It is a massive game for us,” the coach said.
He spoke of the energy and emotion the Jaguares generate from playing at home.
“They’re a pretty physical side and they’re an emotional side, so they’re very tough to play there [in Buenos Aires].
“We were quite good against them in the early part of our encounter with them,” he said of the 8-35 loss to the Argentinean franchise at Newlands back in March.
“We’ve got to do our homework and see what worked at Newlands. It will be a great challenge for our boys.
“We’ve shown that we can win away against good teams, as we did the Rebels in Melbourne.”
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