Springbok star’s return hands Stormers selection conundrum against Glasgow Warriors
Stormers playmakers Manie Libbok and Damian Willemse.
The Stormers are set to receive a boost as Rugby World Cup-winning duo, Manie Libbok and Frans Malherbe, are in line to return to action when they host Glasgow Warriors in Stellenbosch on Saturday.
The duo last played when the Springboks beat Argentina in their Rugby Championship clash in Mbombela last month.
Libbok is set to make his return after recently getting married while Malherbe is back to full fitness and could return in action at the expense of Sazi Sandi in the Stormers squad.
Selection conundrum for John Dobson
Libbok is usually the Cape Town-based outfit’s first choice fly-half but his availability leaves head coach John Dobson with a selection conundrum after fellow Bok Damian Willemse walked off with the man-of-the-match award in last weekend’s home United Rugby Championship (URC) triumph over Munster.
Willemse injured his pectoral muscle during that encounter while Warrick Gelant also sustained a knock, but Stormers forwards coach Rito Hlungwani revealed that both Springboks are fit to face the defending URC champions this weekend.
“We had a lot of meetings and recovery [sessions], so we haven’t trained yet, but at the moment all those players are available to train,” he said.
“From the weekend, the only guy who is not available to train is Sti (Sithole, loosehead prop), but the rest of the guys came through the game nicely.”
With Libbok in the selection mix again, the Stormers could bring him in at fly-half while Willemse shifts to full-back or inside centre at the expense of Gelant or Dan du Plessis.
“As you know I’m the forwards coach, so I don’t select the backs,” joked Hlungwani when asked to comment on that selection issue.
“But I will just tell Dawie Snyman (backline coach) to put all of them on the field. They will figure it out.”
Stormers out for revenge
The Warriors knocked the Stormers out of last year’s URC in their quarter-final clash at Scotstoun and head coach Dobson said his charges are keen to turn the tables on the Scottish outfit this weekend.
“There’s so much desperation within this team for us to do well. There’s a poor history by us with Glasgow. They knocked us out in the quarter-finals last year and we’ve lost three games in a row at Scotstoun,” he said.
“They’re the defending champions and it’s our last home game for a long time. So, it’s a big one for us… if we get that right then we’ll be three out of five, having toured, then I think we’ll be hard in the mix.
“There will be some needle in the game because we’ve had some bad experiences up in Scotstoun and it’s going to be a vibe in Stellenbosch.”
