16/04/2008 15:12

Gavin Rich

Cape Town - The Stormers are not just preparing to play against the Hurricanes at Newlands on Saturday - they are readying themselves for the first Cape storm of the winter.

They say the Easter weekend heralds the start of the rainy season in the Cape, and Easter was about three or four months early this year, so go figure - that the first rains arrive this coming weekend is just about right.

At least the weather forecasters are predicting it, with the chances of rain being set at 80%, with 40km/h winds.

That shouldn't sit too well with the Stormers. Although the Hurricanes are also a team that relies heavily on pace and handling, the Stormers (and Western Province) have boasted a woeful record in wet weather in the past couple of years, something that Rassie Erasmus, the Stormers coach, should be well aware of after his Cheetahs team beat WP in a rain-storm during a Currie Cup semi-final in Cape Town a couple of years ago.

And as Stormers skipper Jean de Villiers was quick to point out, the Hurricanes have had a couple of wet games this season, such as when they drew with the Sharks in Wellington less than two weeks ago.

"The Hurricanes do like to run the ball, but they are pretty good at playing conservatively when they have to," said De Villiers.

Management team

"They have played a couple of games in the wet weather already this season, whereas we have played mostly dry games. The closest we came to a wet weather game was when we played against the Sharks in the Durban humidity, which made the ball slippery."

So the Stormers may find themselves having to adapt their normally expansive approach, and it will be an interesting test as they do appear to have more ways to play and win under the coaching of Rassie Erasmus and his current management team than was the case under some previous regimes.

It will though demand that the Stormers tight five be on top of their game, which means it is a good thing for them that two key tight forwards, Andries Bekker and JD Moller, have been declared fit to play. That means that Erasmus was on Wednesday able to name the same starting team that played the Cheetahs last weekend.

"It is good to have continuity in selection and to feel that the combinations are settled," agreed De Villiers.

It will be interesting to see though if closer to the game, if the wet weather turns into a reality, Erasmus might be tempted to bring in Tony Brown, who has played some good wet weather games at all levels, including a winning Test match for the All Blacks against the Springboks here at Newlands in 2001, to flyhalf, with Grant moving to centre.

It might not happen from the start, but it is an option worth pondering considering the importance of this game.

Kicking game

Of course, much could depend on the extent of any rainfall. The Stormers are going to have to place a high premium on defending the flyhalf and midfield channels against the big Hurricanes midfield and loose-forwards, and Grant, De Villiers and Gcobani Bobo have excelled as a defensive unit this season.

If the heavens really open up, however, and it is going to be a kicking game, then this priority could change.

Stormers team: Conrad Jantjes, Tonderai Chavhanga, Gcobani Bobo, Jean de Villiers (captain), Sireli Naqelevuki, Peter Grant, Ricky Januarie, Luke Watson, Francois Louw, Schalk Burger, Andries Bekker, Adriaan Fondse, Brian Mujati, Schalk Brits, JD Moller.

Reserves: Tiaan Liebenberg, Brok Harris, Ross Skeate, Robbie Diack, Bolla Conradie, Tony Brown, Gio Aplon.