Quartet join DHL Stormers in Wellington

Juan de Jongh, Rynhardt Elstadt, Caylib Oostuizen and Damian Willemse will all join the DHL Stormers in Wellington ahead of their final tour game against the Hurricanes on Friday.

Centre De Jongh (knee) and utility forward Elstadt (ankle) have both recently recovered from injury and will provide some important experience ahead of the clash with the defending Vodacom Super Rugby champions.

There were more injuries added to the list following the defeat to the Highlanders in Dunedin, with prop JC Janse van Rensburg, locks Eben Etzebeth and Pieter-Steph du Toit and flyhalf Kurt Coleman all flying back to Cape Town.

Janse van Rensburg has torn a bicep muscle and will be out for four to six weeks, whilst Coleman tore a deltoid ligament in his ankle in training and Etzebeth (calf) and Du Toit (knee) have also been ruled out due to injury niggles.

There are also doubts about captain Siya Kolisi who is nursing a shoulder injury, whilst prop Frans Malherbe will not be available for selection this week due to the Springbok management plan.

Despite these setbacks, DHL Stormers Head Coach Robbie Fleck said that the squad is determined to end their tour of New Zealand with an improved performance in Wellington.

“The injury list is growing, but luckily we welcome some quality players back this week and we are focused on the challenge ahead.

“We know that we can improve in a number of areas, so the goal this week is to raise our game against the Hurricanes,” he said.