Notshe hoping to sink his teeth into Jaguares
Breakdonw domination is important in any rugby match. But when it comes to playing an Argentinian side, it becomes even more significant, writes John Goliath.
|||Cape Town - Breakdown domination is important in any rugby match. But when it comes to playing an Argentinian side, it becomes even more significant.
It’s probably why Stormers coach Robbie Fleck has selected a loose trio who are going to play more towards the ball in tonight’s Super Rugby match against the Jaguares at the Estadio Jose Amalfitani.
The Jaguares, like all Argentine sides, are likely to flood the opposition’s breakdown and cause all sorts of chaos to try and turn the ball over. They use any means necessary to do so, and tend to play the referee quite well.
We saw it last year when the Pumas obliterated the Springboks at the breakdown, before scoring some impressive tries from turnover ball.
It’s their main attacking weapon, as they have the guts to run the ball from almost everywhere on the field if you make a mistake.
Fleck has decided to shift Nizaam Carr back to No 8 in place of Schalk Burger, while Sikhumbuzo Notshe starts in the No 6 jersey.
Both Carr and Notshe have done a great job at openside flank this year, but they are also skilful enough to link with the backline. That will leave in-form blindside flank Siya Kolisi to play his normal game of taking the ball up with plenty of venom, while also putting in the big hits on defence.
In a sense, tonight’s Stormers back row has a very good balance, because their battle with the likes of Leonardo Senatore, Tomas Lezana and Pablo Matera could be a crucial part of the match.
“I always indicated to Notshe that I was looking to give him another start, and he gets this opportunity,” Fleck said.
“Likewise I was very happy with the way Nemo (Carr) has gone at six. For me, what he’s been doing at six in the last two games, he’s got to take it to eight for this weekend because we are going to be seriously challenged at the breakdown.
“We can’t be too loose in our approach, and the fact that Notshe, Siya and Nemo have played six in their careers and are all hard-working players (makes them ideal for the Jaguares game).”
The Jagaures showed some fight towards the end of last week’s match against the Chiefs. They were arguably the best side in the last 10 minutes of the encounter, and were very unlucky not to win the game in the end.
They play with plenty of energy in the last quarter of matches, so the Stormers will certainly need Burger’s work-rate, experience and enthusiasm off the bench.
“Schalk going to the bench is partly rotational, but also it’s good to have a guy with his experience coming off the bench in those last 20 to 30 minutes where the Jaguares really upped their game against the Chiefs,” Fleck said.
“They really brought something special in those last 20 minutes, especially in the last five minutes where they scored two tries. Schalk will come on when the game will certainly be more open, with his experience and calmness, and he thrives in an open game.”
Another player who will have to play an important role for the Stormers is young lock JD Schickerling, who replaces Pieter-Steph du Toit in the starting line-up for the first time. Du Toit is being rested in accordance with SA Rugby’s plans for contracted players.
Schickerling has done great work when he has come off the bench, both in terms of his general play and his calling at lineout time. But the battle against the physical Jaguares pack will be a true test of his ability.
“Pieter-Steph has been playing really well. We have been really happy with the way he has been running the lineouts, and his general work rate has been outstanding,” Fleck added.
“He has formed a really good partnership with Eben over the last four games. He is not your typical running five because he plays towards the ball and makes a lot of carries.
“But in JD we have one of the best up-and-coming locks in the country. He is a quality player. He is a hard worker and smart rugby player. He is going to be coming up against a quality pack and he needs to command the lineouts.”
TEAMS FOR THE ESTADIO JOSE AMALFITANI
Jaguares: 15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Matías Orlando, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Jerónimo de la Fuente, 11 Lucas González Amorosino, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Martín Landajo, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Tomás Lezana, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Matías Alemanno, 3 Felipe Arregui, 2 Agustín Creevy (captain), 1 Santiago García Botta. Bench:16 Julián Montoya, 17 Roberto Tejerizo, 18 Enrique Pieretto, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Facundo Isa, 21 Gonzalo Bertranou, 22 Santiago González Iglesias, 23 Santiago Cordero.
Stormers: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Johnny Kotze, 12 Juan de Jongh (co-captain), 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Kurt Coleman, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe (co-captain), 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg. Bench: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Jan de Klerk, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 23 Huw Jones.
Referee: Chris Pollock.
Kickoff: 11.40pm (SA time).
TV: SS1, SSHD1