Reds v DHL Stormers- Preview

Reds v DHL Stormers

The defending Vodacom Super Rugby champions await the DHL Stormers in Brisbane on Friday morning at a venue most South Africans are not very fond of.

And while the Reds’ home ground of Suncorp Stadium can’t really be described as a South African graveyard, teams from the Republic have struggled there in the last few years.

The Queenslanders have lost only eight from 35 home games against South African sides and only two in their last 10 matches at Suncorp. Those defeats came against the MTN Lions in 2009 (31-20) and the DHL Stormers in 2008 (34-16).

Both sides have been hit hard by injuries, with DHL Stormers coach Allister Coetzee picking his third captain for 2012 in Duane Vermeulen as Schalk Burger and Jean de Villiers got struck down by injuries.

Last year, all teams used two or fewer captains during the season, bar the MTN Lions (Franco van der Merwe, Doppies La Grange and Josh Strauss) and Crusaders (Kieran Read, Richie McCaw and Andy Ellis), who had three each, while the Toyota Cheetahs topped the list with four captains (Adriaan Strauss, Juan Smith, Andries Strauss and Wilhelm Steenkamp).

“Injuries are part of Vodacom Super Rugby and it’s the teams that are best able to cope with them, that will do well in this competition,” said Coetzee.

“We have to be able to adapt and accept that injuries are part of the game. Fortunately the team has experienced this in the past. We have absolute confidence in the squad. Duane is a guy who leads by example. He understands the game and has years of Super Rugby experience.”

Head to head (since 1998)