Preview: Stormers v Reds

Having emerged triumphant over three successive weeks, this game against the Stormers will be another stern examination of the Reds’ capabilities.

The Queenslanders have enjoyed an excellent start under their new head coach Brad Thorn, with the heavy defeat to the Melbourne Rebels the team’s only blemish. Led by a belligerent defence and a set of forwards which share their boss’ philosophy in terms of being tough and unyielding, the Australian outfit have found a way to win.

Although the attack is yet to sparkle, despite having a number of quality outside backs, it has not mattered for Thorn’s charges. They have not scored more than 20 points in a match this season but, in the games against the Brumbies, Bulls and Jaguares, their opponents came up against a solid red wall.

Their young players up front have been an absolutely outstanding, with Taniela Tupou, Adam Korczyk, Izack Rodda and Caleb Timu, among others, all producing standout displays during the campaign. The foundations are therefore in place but can the quality behind the scrum match what has been done in the set-piece?

That answer may well lie in Saturday’s contest. While the Stormers will not be wholly content by their opening to the campaign, they have shown enough in the five games to suggest that they are capable of reaching the play-offs.

The South African outfit’s victory over the Blues – a team that overcame the Lions in round four – last weekend was hugely impressive. Playing at Newlands is also a strength and the visitors may well struggle to find the same success they had in the previous three rounds.

Stormers head coach Robbie Fleck has a strong pack at his disposal. Wilco Louw, Pieter-Steph du Toit, captain Siya Kolisi and Nizaam Carr form a strong spine throughout the eight, while the backline also has plenty of talent.

In Damian Willemse, they have one of the league’s most gifted fly-halves and, although back three player Dillyn Leyds is out because of a calf injury, JJ Engelbrecht and Raymond Rhule carry plenty of threat out wide.

Thorn’s men have enjoyed a tremendous start but the Stormers have more than enough quality to end that run of form in Cape Town on Saturday.

The last time the teams met: It was an ultimately comfortable victory for the South African outfit back in 2016 as they went away with a 40-22 triumph over the Reds, but the visitors certainly rued their ill-discipline late on. The Queensland side were competitive for most of the match, scoring three tries via Liam Gill, Karmichael Hunt and Eto Nabuli, but they were undone by the kicking of the hosts’ replacement fly-half Brandon Thomson. He added three penalties to move the them 33-22 ahead before Vincent Koch crashed over to complete the victory for the Stormers.

Players to watch:

For Stormers: In 2015, there was a young centre by the name of Damian de Allende that dominated Super Rugby and went on to make a significant impact for the Springboks. For whatever reason, that form tailed off and the 26-year-old endured a couple of difficult years for the Cape Town-based outfit. While not quite yet at that level from three years ago, there are signs that De Allende is beginning to re-find his best form and another excellent performance against the Reds would continue that progression.

For Reds: The Queenslanders’ pack has received plenty of plaudits and number eight Caleb Timu is one of those to particularly impress in the opening weeks. The New Zealand-born back-rower, who was a star for the Australian schoolboys before he plied his trade in rugby league, returned to union for this Super Rugby season and has fitted in seamlessly. A powerful carrier with a big engine, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Timu break into the Wallabies squad for the visit of Ireland in June.

Team news: Stormers head coach Robbie Fleck has made four changes to the team that beat the Blues in round five. Three of those come in the pack with Cobus Wiese replacing Chris van Zyl – a move that sees Pieter-Steph du Toit shifting to lock – while JC Janse van Rensburg is at loosehead.

Behind the scrum, full-back Dillyn Leyds is ruled out so Craig Barry starts alongside JJ Engelbrecht and Raymond Rhule in the back three.

Among the replacements Carlu Sadie, Kobus van Dyk and Sikhumbuzo Notshe all return and Fleck is hoping his team build on the performance last weekend.

"It was great to get back to winning ways at Newlands last week, but we are certainly not taking anything for granted," he explained. "We want to go out there and improve in a number of areas, to maintain the positive trajectory we are on."

Meanwhile, Brad Thorn has made three changes for the Reds with hooker Alex Mafi, scrum-half Ben Lucas and centre Duncan Paia’aua coming into the starting XV.

On the bench, regular captain Scott Higginbotham is on the bench after returning from suspension, joining prop Sef Fa’agase and half-back Tate McDermott, who is selected ahead of James Tuttle.

James Slipper will therefore skipper the side on his 100th match and Thorn praised the efforts of the loosehead prop.

“This is a really special match for James Slipper,” he said.

”He has been at Ballymore for more than a decade and the opportunity to play 100 games for your home state is significant. The occasion isn’t lost on anyone. We want to put in a performance we can all be proud of.”

Form: It has all been about home comforts for the Stormers with their two victories coming at Newlands against the Jaguares (28-20) and Blues (37-20). They have had less luck on the road, losing to the Waratahs, Crusaders and Highlanders, so Robbie Fleck’s charges will no doubt be pleased to be back in front of their own fans. In comparison, the Reds have only played four matches so far but have one more win, impressively overcoming the Jaguares in Buenos Aires for their third triumph in the competition. Their other victories have come versus the Brumbies and Bulls, with their only loss at the Rebels in round two.

Prediction: As good as the Reds were defensively against the Jaguares, the hosts should be slightly more clinical than the Argentineans. Stormers by 5.

Previous results:

2016: Stormers won 40-22 in Cape Town
2014: Reds won 22-17 in Brisbane
2013: Stormers won 20-15 Cape Town
2012: Stormers won 23-13in Brisbane
2011: Reds won 19-6 in Cape Town
2010: Reds won 16-13 in Brisbane
2009: Stormers won 27-24 in Cape Town
2008: Stormers won 34-16 in Brisbane
2007: Stormers won 37-24 in Cape Town
2006: Stormers won 24-20 in Brisbane

The teams:

Stormers: 15 Craig Barry, 14 JJ Engelbrecht, 13 EW Viljoen, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Cobus Wiese, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Jan de Klerk, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Ramone Samuels, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg
Replacements: 16 Dean Muir, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Carlu Sadie, 19 Chris van Zyl, 20 Kobus van Dyk, 21 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 22 Justin Phillips, 23 George Whitehead

Reds: 15 Aidan Toua, 14 Filipo Daugunu, 13 Samu Kerevi, 12 Duncan Paia’aua, 11 Chris Feauai-Sautia, 10 Jono Lance, 9 Ben Lucas, 8 Caleb Timu, 7 Adam Korczyk, 6 Angus Scott-Young, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Alex Mafi, 1 James Slipper (c)
Replacements: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 JP Smith, 18 Sef Fa’agase, 19 Harry Hockings, 20 Scott Higginbotham, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Hamish Stewart, 23 Eto Nabuli

Date: Saturday, March 24
Venue: Newlands, Cape Town
Kick-off: 17:15 local (15:15 GMT)
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Egon Seconds (South Africa), Rasta Rasivhenge (South Africa)
TMO: Christie du Preez (South Africa)