Taute at fullback for Stormers

Jaco Taute’s ability has been handed the Stormers fullback spot for Saturday’s Super Rugby clash against the Rebels in Melbourne.

Jaco Taute’s ability to “fight his way out of a corner” was one of the main reasons he has been handed the Stormers fullback spot for Saturday’s Super Rugby clash against the Rebels in Melbourne.

Stormers coach Robbie Fleck opted for the experience of Taute, who hasn’t played at this level in 2016 due to yet another knee injury, but has been making his way back on to the field for the Western Province Currie Cup side at inside centre in recent weeks.

With Dillyn Leyds out for the season, the other option at No 15 was Huw Jones, who was the back-up to Cheslin Kolbe before the June break, but Fleck said on Thursday that the former Varsity Cup star only joined the squad in Melbourne on Wednesday night after making his Test debut for Scotland against Japan in the Far East at the weekend and hasn’t trained with the Stormers for a month.

“The fullback position has been a concern for a while as we knew Cheslin (who is part of the Springbok Sevens squad ahead of the Olympics, along with captain Juan de Jongh) was leaving us, and with all the injuries, we’ve had to really dig deep and see who was around within the system. We know we’ve got some good youngsters coming through the ranks like Grant Hermanus and EW Viljoen,” Fleck said from Melbourne.

“But with the young backline that we’ve got, we were looking for some experience and Jaco has played there in Super Rugby before. Yes, it’s been a while since he’s played at this level, but what this team needs right now is a bit of leadership, motivation and confidence coming from a senior player.

“Jaco and Scott van Breda were brought on tour as fullback covers, and the way they’ve trained over the last two weeks, I’ve felt that Jaco’s communication was key and essential to the group and what’s needed for the group.”

Taute starred for the Lions at fullback before joining the Stormers in 2012, where he has had horrible luck with a series of knee injuries. He eventually played a part in WP’s 2014 Currie Cup triumph as an inside centre, but hasn’t had much of a chance in the last line of defence due to injury and of course Kolbe’s presence.

Fleck hopes that the four-Test Springbok, who turned just 25 in March, can still make a fist of it at No 15 with Kolbe and Leyds not available. “When he came to us, he came as a fullback and played some of his best rugby there for the Lions. He’s had a few injuries and Cheslin has been the first-choice, but this is an opportunity for Jaco and he has been working hard to get back to where he is,” the coach said.

“He’s one of those players who are prepared to be thrown into the deep end and fight his way out of a corner.”

Scott van Breda, who played for the Southern Kings previously and joined WP after the financial problems in Port Elizabeth last year, is the back-up fullback on the bench. But Brandon Thomson can count himself unlucky to miss out as a reserve after impressing as a flyhalf substitute in some of the games this season, with Van Breda covering No 10 as well.

Robert du Preez, the first-choice pivot at the start of the season, is also back on the field after recovering from a knee injury that sidelined him for three months, but is still finding his feet again for Western Province in the Currie Cup qualifiers.

As expected, Schalk Burger returns at No 8 from an ankle injury that kept out of the Springbok squad for the Ireland series and takes over the captaincy due to Juan de Jongh’s involvement with the Blitzboks and Frans Malherbe’s neck injury.

Springbok squad member Sikhumbuzo Notshe will feel unlucky to be benched, but with Burger at the back of the scrum, Nizaam Carr’s ability to play towards the ball would’ve counted in his favour at openside flank.

Notshe is part of a 6-2 split in favour of the forwards on the bench, which indicates that the Stormers are planning a second-half onslaught on a usually tough Rebels pack with JD Schickerling and Rynhardt Elstadt as extra lock options to give Springboks Eben Etzebeth and Pieter-Steph du Toit a breather following their exploits against Ireland.

Stormers Team

15 Jaco Taute, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Daniel du Plessis, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Schalk Burger (captain), 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Nizaam Carr, 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Oli Kebble.

Bench: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Alistair Vermaark, 18 JP Smith, 19 JD Schickerling, 20 Rynhardt Elstadt, 21 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 22 Louis Schreuder, 23 Scott van Breda.

ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za

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