Leolin Zas is back from the injury that kept him out of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship final and will be part of the DHL Stormers squad that leaves for Italy and Wales on Monday evening, but fullback Clayton Blommetjies won’t be in the group of 28.
The Stormers play Zebre Parma in Parma on Saturday before heading to Wales, where they face the Ospreys and Cardiff. Blommetjies was good in the Stormers’ first two games against Connacht and Edinburgh and he wasn’t injured this past Saturday, so the omission of the former Cheetahs player is a surprise.
There was no explanation forwarded for his exclusion, so it may possibly be assumed that he is not regarded as the right fullback for northern hemisphere conditions, with the inclusion of the physical Samoan Alapati Leuia possibly being an indication that Damian Willemse will be used as a fullback on this tour rather than as a centre.
Sulieman Hartzenberg, who scored two tries on the wing against Edinburgh last weekend, is also good in the midfield, and with Zas back in the mix after his long term injury layoff, he may be in line for a return to centre. The other centre on tour is Dan du Plessis, who has been solid at outside centre in the initial stages of the season in the absence of Ruhan Nel but who is essentially more of an inside centre.
Zas was on the sidelines when the Stormers rounded off their initial two match home campaign with a good win over Edinburgh at the weekend, with Hartzenberg joining Angelo Davids in showing that there is plenty of wing depth in the Cape.
However Zas was a revelation before being injured last season and featured prominently in several of the good wins that the Stormers scored en route to the final and coach John Dobson will be very happy to have him back in the selection mix, particularly with the other experienced wing from last year, Seabelo Senatla, out for several months with the injury sustained in the dangerous Bundee Aki cleanout in the game against Connacht.
Leuia, recruited to the Stormers shortly before the start of the URC campaign, should get his first taste of rugby in the Stormers colours while on tour, although Dobson said after Saturday’s win over Edinburgh that he wouldn’t be using the tour to bleed in newcomers.
“We do need to increase our depth but the time to blood new players is really in home games, so we will probably be looking to give youngsters a run in the phase we face after returning from overseas with home games against the Scarlets and the Lions in late November and early December,” he said.
The Stormers head for tour having gathered maximum points from both their opening games, with the only other teams to have managed that in the competition after two rounds being Leinster and Ulster. The platform has been created for the Stormers to strike out for the results that will enable them to be in a strong position at the completion of the initial block of five matches at the end of the tour.
“This is a very important tour for a few different reasons, and we want to ensure that we keep building,” said Dobson.
“Our opening games have got us off to a good start, but we need to show that we can do the business away from home as well. There are a few players in this group who are hungry to make their mark, so this will be a good opportunity for them to show what they can do for us going forward.”
The two Springbok first choice props, regular captain Steven Kitshoff and tighthead Frans Malherbe, are not in the touring group but that doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t be called upon during the tour.
“We may look at calling in our panzer division later on the trip, not initially,” said the Stormers coach after the Edinburgh game.
Much in that regard will probably depend on the Stormers’ injury situation, while Dobson was the first to admit he wasn’t that crazy about the quality of his team’s scrumming against Edinburgh, particularly in the first half.
“I was a bit concerned about that, I never expected Edinburgh to make us struggle there like they did, even though they have an all Scotland international front row. It is an area we need to work on and improve on in the overseas games, that is for sure.
Like he did in the second half against Edinburgh and on last year’s first overseas tour, veteran Brok Harris will play a big role for the Stormers in shoring up the scrumming resources that have been a bit depleted by the red card that has prevented Sazi Sandi from touring with the group, as well in an off-field role as a secondary scrum coach.
Strong>DHL Stormers touring squad:Kwenzo Blose, Angelo Davids, Hacjivah Dayimani, Paul de Wet, Ben-Jason Dixon, Dan du Plessis, Neethling Fouche, Brok Harris, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Herschel Jantjies, Alapati Leuia, Manie Libbok, Godlen Masimla, Salmaan Moerat, Sacha Mngomezulu, Marvin Orie, Junior Pokomela, Evan Roos, Adre Smith, Chad Solomon, Marcel Theunissen, Ernst van Rhyn, Andre Hugo Venter, Ali Vermaak, Damian Willemse, Nama Xaba, Leolin Zas.