Stormers' Bok stalwart set to miss Super Rugby opener

INJURY UPDATE: The Stormers are set to be without one of their stalwarts when their Super Rugby campaign kicks off against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld.

While the Cape side will have the bulk of their squad fit and available, there are a few players that are still on the injury list heading into Super Rugby.

Stormers head coach Robbie Fleck revealed that Bok Eben Etzebeth is unlikely to be ready in time for his team’s opening Super Rugby match against the Bulls on February 16. Etzebeth suffered a foot injury during the Springboks’ end-of-year tour.

“Ramone Samuels, Johan du Toit and EW Viljoen are still out. Viljoen has got a stress fracture, he had to have an operation and he will only likely return in March so it’s not too bad,” Fleck told reporters after his team’s first warm-up of the season at False Bay RFC on Saturday.

“Paul de Wet should be back in training in the next two to three weeks. Jean-Luc du Plessis will be back for hopefully the Boland game and Eben will hopefully be back for the Lions [February 23] game.”

A 27-man Stormers playing group ran in 14 tries in their warm-up against a Combined Club XV and False Bay RFC in Constantia on Saturday and Fleck was pleased with what he saw.

“The whole purpose of today [Saturday] was to get the guys to have a hit-out. It’s good conditioning for us and to put a few patterns together. But mainly from a conditioning point of view just to see how far we are in terms of that and we are pretty happy,” said the coach.

The Stormers will face the Bulls in the Super Hero Sunday doubleheader at Cape Town Stadium on Sunday and Fleck will look to introduce some familiar faces to his playing squad for the encounter.

“I’d like to think that we are going to introduce a number of the Springbok tourists. I think the guys that played a lot of rugby at the end of last year probably need another two weeks of conditioning, but in terms of the guys who didn’t get a lot of game time, we will be seeing them next weekend.

“We will only be taking 26 players into the doubleheader so it would be a stronger side,” said Fleck.

By Warren Fortune
@FortuneWarren
@rugby365com

Super Rugby 2019 – RETURNS FEB 15#SuperRugby #SR2019 pic.twitter.com/IXNjwuoryk

— Super Rugby (@SuperRugby) January 28, 2019