Stormers call in two injury reinforcements as Kolisi sent home

Under fire Stormers coach Robbie Fleck sent an SOS to Cape Town for reinforcements, as he looks to salvage something from a winless Australasian tour.

Centre Dan Kriel and hooker Chad Solomon have flown out to join the Stormers in Australia, ahead of their final tour match against the Rebels on Friday. Outside back Sarel Marais and lock Chris van Zyl have both flown back to Cape Town.

The duo picked up injuries in the Stormers’ 12-24 loss to the Reds in Brisbane last Friday. Marais has a hip flexor injury, while Van Zyl has been ruled out for at least six weeks due to a back injury.

Captain Siya Kolisi has also returned home, as he is being rested this weekend.

Two quick tries early in the second half unsettled the DHL Stormers in the third game on their Australasian tour, and they ultimately lost to the Reds by 24-12 in Brisbane on Friday.

The scores were tied at 0-0 at the break and the Capetonians would have rued a couple of missed chances in the first half. Twice in the first 20 minutes they crossed the try-line, with a matter of inches between Damian Willemse and Sergeal Petersen scoring tries for the visitors.

Both teams defended well in the opening half, but it was a piece of cynical play by Siya Kolisi which broke the dam wall. The DHL Stormers captain was yellow-carded right before the break and during the 10 minutes he spent in the sin bin, the Reds scored twice, through Samu Kerevi and Brandon Paenga, to take a 14-0 lead after 45 minutes.

The visitors fought back through a try by Kobus van Dyk, but when Tate McDermott tapped quickly from a penalty and exploited a momentary lapse of concentration by the visitors, the win was basically sealed for the Reds, even though Damian De Allende added a second try for Robbie Fleck’s team.

The DHL Stormers’ biggest problems were their struggle to convert their opportunities into points, a lack of patience on attack and too many mistakes. Their tour Down Under concludes next week against the top side in the Australian Conference, the Rebels in Melbourne.