Stefan Ungerer has been included in the DHL Stormers squad for their trip to Wales, where they will play their final Vodacom United Rugby Championship league fixture against Scarlets on Saturday evening.
The Windhoek Draught Griquas No9 has been loaned to the Stormers for just one game following injuries to the two regular scrumhalves, Herschel Jantjies and Paul de Wet. The former did not play the last game against Leinster because of a hand problem that still persists, while De Wet injured his shoulder in the win against Leinster.
Jantjies is expected back in time for the play-offs but it is touch and go with De Wet, who is assessing the injury and being given time to recover in the hope that an operation won’t be necessary.
Ungerer will be returning to Griquas after this game to to help the Kimberley union in their quest to make the Carling Currie Cup playoffs. Ungerer played for the Stormers in their first five URC matches when Jantjies was away with the Springboks so he is no stranger to the Stormers’ systems.
Ungerer, who has also played for the Cell C Sharks and the Southern Kings and has a great kicking game that should come in useful in a northern hemisphere game, will be moving to the Stormers on a two-year contract from July. Ungerer is likely to start against the Scarlets, with Godlen Masimla backing him up off the bench.
The Stormers have just two scrumhalves in the 24-man squad named on Monday to travel to Wales. The team was due to fly out from Cape Town late on Monday, with the team announcement expected on Friday.
The situation in the other position where the Stormers have experienced a bit of an injury crisis, hooker, has been eased by the return of Andre-Hugo Venter, who had been out for two months nursing a leg injury sustained in the big win over Zebre in Stellenbosch at the start of the home phase of the Stormers’ matches against foreign opposition.
There are some interesting inclusions and exclusions from the traveling squad, with Stormers coach John Dobson clearly using this final league game as an opportunity to broaden his player base in case of injuries during the playoff stage of the URC. That might explain why Nama Xaba, the Western Province captain who was man of the match in the win over the Airlink Pumas in Nelspruit, is traveling ahead of Junior Pokomela, and ditto Marcel Theunissen.
Ernst van Rhyn’s ability to play both lock and loose-forward probably earned him his spot ahead of Adre Smith, who has been good since moving to the Cape from Griquas but will lose his starting place in the second row now that Salmaan Moerat, a Stormers co-captain, is back playing again after a lengthy absence because of injury.
Talking of injury, Rikus Pretorius is fit again after going off against the Glasgow Warriors with concussion but is not traveling with the squad. Instead, it appears Cornel Smit, who has been good for WP recently, is being rewarded for his Currie Cup form by being given some URC game time ahead of the playoffs.
In the absence of Pretorius it is clear that Dobson will be going with Damian Willemse as his inside centre and Warrick Gelant at fullback for a game that will determine where the Stormers finish on the log and therefore who they will be playing against in the first playoff game.
Stormers tour squad: Warrick Gelant, Leolin Zas, Seabelo Senatla, Ruhan Nel, Damian Willemse, Cornel Smit, Manie Libbok, Stefan Ungerer, Godlen Masimla, Evan Roos, Hacjivah Dayimani, Marcel Theunissen, Nama Xaba, Deon Fourie, Ernst van Rhyn, Salmaan Moerat, Marvin Orie, Neethling Fouche, Frans Malherbe, Ali Vermaak, Steven Kitshoff, Brok Harris, Andre-Hugo Venter, JJ Kotze.