Chiefs v Stormers: Teams
The Stormers kick-off their tour of Australasia against the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday.
Last Updated: 14/05/11 11:03am
The Stormers kick-off their tour of Australasia against the Chiefs in Hamilton, where the hosts will be out to avenge last year's hammering at the same ground.
Waikato Stadium holds happy memories for the Stormers, who put on their best performance of last season by running in six tries to record a comprehensive 45-17 win.
Missing for the Chiefs in that game were All Blacks Mils Muliaina and Sitiveni Sivivatu, who both had a big influence in last week's win against the Highlanders and also line up this time around.
The Chiefs will have a spring in their step and feel much more confident coming off a deserved 20-7 win over the more fancied Highlanders.
Boost
It was a moral-boosting win, something the Stormers desperately needed against the Crusaders before embarking on their month-long tour.
Instead, the Stormers are still smarting from a 20-14 reverse at the hands of a second-rate Crusaders outfit.
The match was the Stormers' to lose after the Crusaders' star back-line was depleted early on through injuries to Israel Dagg, Sean Maitland, Kahn Fotuali'i and Adam Whitelock.
The Stormers must now bounce back to winning ways against the Chiefs to maintain their conference lead and avoid the pitfalls of a slow start to a long tour.
After 11 matches the Chiefs are sitting ninth in the standings with just four wins to their name.
However, the Stormers will do well not to underestimate a team who have knocked over the Sharks at home this season, and led the Bulls 20-3 at one point in Pretoria.
"They came off a good win (against the Highlanders) last week and they will feed off that victory," said Stormers coach Allister Coetzee.
"Make no mistake, it will be a tough game and a big challenge, but we've prepared well and we understand the importance of winning this week. Playing at home will give them a lot of confidence, as will our loss against the Crusaders."
Chiefs: 15 Mils Muliaina (c), 14 Lelia Masaga, 13 Richard Kahui, 12 Dwayne Sweeney, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Stephen Donald, 9 Brendon Leonard, 8 Fritz Lee, 7 Tanerau Latimer, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Romana Graham, 4 Craig Clarke, 3 Ben Afeaki, 2 Hika Elliot, 1 Toby Smith.
Replacements: 16 Aled de Malmanche, 17 Sona Taumalolo, 18 Isaac Ross, 19 Sam Cane, 20 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 21 Tim Nanai-Williams, 22 Jackson Willison.
Stormers: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean De Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger (c), 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Rynhardt Elstadt, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Deon Fourie, 1 Wicus Blaauw.
Replacements: 16 Tiaan Liebenberg, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 De Kock Steenkamp, 19 Anton Van Zyl, 20 Dewaldt Duvenage, 21 Lionel Cronje, 22 Juan De Jongh.
