‘Trokkie’ tasked with stoking the fire in Stormers’ belly
The former age-group star gets to front up against the Jaguares, while a visit to the bench has apparently done Damian Willemse some good.
Juarno Augustus during the DHL Stormers training session press conference at DHL Newlands Stadium on February 28, 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images)
While the Lions showed you can tame the beefy Jaguares with a nippy, lightweight loose trio, the Stormers are hoping to fight fire with fire in that regard at Newlands on Friday evening.
As a result, they’ve summoned the man named ‘Trokkie’ (Little Truck) to provide further oomph to an already imposing group of flankers.
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There’s been much excitement when it comes to Juarno Augustus ever since he shone brightly in the Junior Springboks’ Under-20 World Championship campaign of 2017.
Injuries limited his initial foray into senior level rugby, but the 21-year-old now looks set to make an impact after recovering from a pre-season ankle injury.
“This is a big opportunity for ‘Trokkie’,” said Stormers coach Robbie Fleck on Wednesday
“He’s fully fit and we’re expected big things from him. He’s an explosive player with ball in hand, and will have a key role to play in terms of stopping the Jaguares’ momentum.”
Less fortunate – at least in terms of a starting place – is Augustus’ former Baby Bok teammate Damian Willemse.
The promising playmaker drops to the bench following a lukewarm start to the campaign.
However, Fleck insists the 20-year-old has stepped up a notch in training and probably won’t be loitering on the sideline too much.
“For the first time in this campaign, I really saw something in Damian this week. He trained exceptionally well and I’m looking forward to seeing what he delivers on the day, whether it be from 10 or 15. We’ll see on the day,” he said.
“He’ll certainly get a fair bit of game-time. He’s slowly getting into the season, but I saw a significant improvement this week. He’s got that X-factor and he’s starting to find his feet again after a slow start.”
Stormers: Dillyn Leyds, Sergeal Petersen, Dan du Plessis, Damian de Allende, SP Marais, Jean-Luc du Plessis, Herschel Jantjies, Juarno Augustus, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi (c), JD Schickerling, Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Scarra Ntubeni, Steven Kitshoff. Bench: Bongi Mbonambi, Corne Fourie, Wilco Louw, Cobus Wiese, Jaco Coetzee, Justin Phillips, Ruhan Nel, Damian Willemse.
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