Pietersen blow for Stormers
Stormers coach Allister Coetzee has been forced to change his injury-ravaged team for their Super Rugby encounter with the Sharks in Durban on Saturday.
There is one injury enforced change and one positional change to the starting XV that beat the Waratahs last week.
Gerhard van den Heever has been named on the right wing in place of the injured Joe Pietersen, who falls out of the matchday 22.
"It is unfortunate that he [Pietersen] is not ready due to a bit of a back strain, but he will definitely be ready next week," said Stormers coach Allister Coetzee.
Captain Jean de Villiers said that he is excited to see what Van den Heever has to offer up against the dangerous Lwazi Mvovo.
"He [Van den Heever] is a big guy, so he is quite physical and he is helluva fast for his size so I think he will bring that go forward that we want at the back going up against two wings that have done really well," he said.
Gio Aplon shifts from right wing to fullback, to accommodate this change, although Coetzee explained that having the electric speed merchant at the back will not necessarily influence their approach in any way.
He said: "It is definitely not going to change the way we are going to play. Gio [Aplon] might make different decisions to Joe in certain areas of the field and we really encourage him to have a go if there is an opportunity for a counter-attack.
"But he has got a job to do, he has got to look at his positional play and make sure that he kicks well," he added.
Captain of the Western Province Vodacom Cup-winning team Nick Fenton-Wells is the only change to the bench, with the coach going with a five-forwards-two-backs split.
"It is good to have a player like Nick [Fenton-Wells], he has done well as the Vodacom Cup captain and he has played Currie Cup for Western Province before so he knows what it takes to go to the Shark tank and play against the Sharks," said Coetzee.
This week will see Deon Fourie get his 50th cap for the Stormers, should he take to the field.
The Stormers have won 10 from 11 starts this season and are currently first in the SA conference and also top the global standings.Stormers: 15 Gio Aplon, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Jebb Sinclair, 7 Rynhardt Elstadt, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Frans Malherbe, 18 De Kock Steenkamp, 19 Don Armand, 20 Nick Fenton-Wells, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Burton Francis.
Date: Saturday, May 26
Venue: Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 19.10 (17.10 GMT)
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa), Reuben Rossouw (South Africa)
TMO: Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)
