Kolbe an exciting flyhalf option
Cheslin Kolbe has the “magic feet” and speed to be an exciting flyhalf option for the Stormers, according to coach Robbie Fleck.
|||Cheslin Kolbe has the “magic feet” and speed to be an exciting flyhalf option for the Stormers, according to coach Robbie Fleck.
Kolbe will be the back-up at flyhalf to Jean-Luc du Plessis for Friday’s Super Rugby clash against the Sunwolves at Newlands (7pm kickoff) following the season-ending injury to incumbent pivot Kurt Coleman.
On Wednesday at Newlands, Fleck confirmed the bad news that Coleman had ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in his knee and would be undergoing an operation on Friday after sustaining the “freak injury” during practice on Tuesday, when there were no players near him.
And while it was a huge blow for the Stormers to lose Coleman as he had been playing with great confidence in the last few weeks, the show must go on, and it features Du Plessis at No 10 this week, and fullback Kolbe as a joker card at first receiver.
Fleck said that Du Plessis – the son of the former Prince of Wings, Carel – was a complete footballer who has a good rugby brain and “likes to organise things and take charge”, and that he is not easily flustered by pressure situations or the responsibility of being the goal-kicker.
But the wildcard at flyhalf is Kolbe, who did play a lot of rugby in the pivot position during his school days at Brackenfell High. “We are going to get Cheslin to cover 10. So I think that’s probably quite exciting for a lot of people. And yes, we have incurred some injuries, but for me, that’s quite an exciting team,” Fleck said.
“Certainly the way we’ve looked at it, and looking at guys covering certain positions – like Huw Jones covering at 15 and Cheslin Kolbe at 10 – I think that’s really exciting.
“Cheslin has done a bit of playmaking stuff for the Sevens – different game, but I know that he’s got the ability to do it. Certainly as a 15, he comes into first receiver a huge amount. I ask that a lot of our 15s, that they’ve got to get involved at first receiver.
“He’s got the qualities to play at 10 – he certainly has the passing game, he’s got the kicking game, he just needs to have that control. But I think it’s an exciting ploy for us. It’s something different, and one thing about him is that he’s got magic feet and he’s got speed.
“He will be a real threat in that first channel. So, it doesn’t matter how much time he’s had there up until now. It’s the fact that in all our games up to this moment, he has been mixing it up between out wide and at first receiver. So, once he gets that opportunity, it will be interesting to see how he goes.”
Fleck added that Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth’s calf injury that he picked up in training this week will keep him sidelined for four to six weeks, but that youngster JD Schickerling has shown that he can fulfil that lineout contesting role that Etzebeth has excelled in this season.
Rynhardt Elstadt (lock cover) and Damian de Allende also make their returns from long-term injuries and will play off the bench, while Fleck said that he is giving Nizaam Carr a breather in the name of rotation, with Schalk Burger coming back at No 8.
There is further rotation in the front row, with Oli Kebble and Vincent Koch getting starts in place of JC Janse van Rensburg and Frans Malherbe.
Stormers Team
15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Johnny Kotze, 12 Juan de Jongh (captain), 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Schalk Burger, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 JD Schickerling, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Oli Kebble.
Bench: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 JC Janse van Rensburg, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Rynhardt Elstadt, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Huw Jones, 23 Damian de Allende.
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