Fleck has seen the Stormers' future
Fleck, speaking after his team's 46-19 demolition of Japan's Sunwolves at Newlands last Friday, said the Stormers will continue to back young players like JD Schickerling and Jean-Luc du Plessis.
"If we can get young players coming in and stepping up, playing like JD [Schickerling ] and JL [Jean-Luc du Plessis] did, then I can only be pleased with that," Fleck said.
"We'll keep investing in the young players and if they keep delivering performances like that we'll be very happy."
It is the flyhalf, in particular, that drew praise from the coach (Fleck) and captain (Juan de Jongh).
One of four flyhalves in the Stormers's squad, 21-year-old Du Plessis – son of Springbok legend Carel du Plessis – showed enough to suggest he is going to be a regular starter for the Stormers down the line.
After Kurt Coleman and Robert du Preez (now sidelined with a knee injury) got the bulk of the game time in the early rounds, Du Plessis made his first Super Rugby start against the Sunwolves.
Not only did he score a brilliant individual try to close out the match, but his play in the lead-up to some of his team's other five-pointers and general play brought some special praise from his coach.
"That moment where he put Kobus van Wyk away for his try, shows the neat little touches he has," Fleck said, adding that there was also a neat left-footed chip that displayed his special skills.
However, Fleck made it clear the former South African Under-20 star "is a work in progress".
"He might be a little disappointed with his goal-kicking," Fleck said, adding: "For his first start I thought he had a really good game.
"Defensively he was massive.
"[However,] the problem with him is he wants to chase everything.
"That – to pick your moments – comes with experience.
"There was enough there to give us confidence going forward."
Captain Juan de Jongh also praised the young lad, saying that for his first game in Super Rugby he showed a lot of maturity.
"He is still very young and will get a lot of opportunities," De Jongh said.
"Hopefully we can build on the combination with him [Du Plessis, Damian [de Allende] and myself."
Fleck said the fullback Cheslin Kolbe knock has already made a full recovery from the chap, late shot by Sunwolves lock Tim Bond – who got banned for four weeks for his actions.
"He passed all his tests and was ready to come back on," Fleck said, adding that they decided to keep him on the sideline as a precaution.
Damien De Allende, who made his first appearance after suffering a serious ankle injury in Japan, also has a fair bit to go before he is up to speed.
"He brought a bit of directness and physicality and gave us a bit of direction there," Fleck said of the Bok centre.
"We have to manage him and can't push him too hard," he added.
Fleck said he was not happy with the "soft moments" in the game against the Sunwolves.
"There were moments that we were good and then there were soft moments, [especially] at the end of the first half – which wasn't part of the plan," he said of his team's fast start and mid-game stumble.
"In the second half we also had those moments where we got loose and the guys stopped working.
"The only thing that can derail us in this campaign is if we stop working hard for each other and that is what happened.
"That is something we can easily sort out.
"I was pleased to see that after half-time we got a bit of shape back into out game."
However, Fleck was adamant that 30 missed tackles is not what a championship side is about and that is something they have to work on during the week – looking towards the Lions game this coming Saturday.
"The Lions are a quality outfit and they will certainly be up for it. Going up to the Lions we certainly need to tighten up defensively."
By Jan de Koning
@King365ed
@rugby365com
