Jean has chance to play on Friday

The centre and captain suffered a heavy blow to the head in the past Saturday’s opening fixture against the Sharks at Newlands. The Stormers lost the game 15-20 after leading 10-0 at halftime.

On Monday Stormers media spokesperson Frikkie Erasmus said De Villiers’ condition is closely monitored by the medical team. The Springbok reported at the team’s High Performance Centre in Bellville on Monday when they started their preparation for Friday night’s game.

“We will decide on Thursday whether he would play or not. It is not a serious injury. Jean is okay and he was walking around without a problem today. At this stage I would say his chance of playing on Friday is 50/50.”

Erasmus reported no other casualties form Saturday’s game, but added that wing Sireli Naqelevuki who missed Saturday’s game with a chest injury, would also know on Thursday whether he would be fit to play.

Nick Koster, who is normally a loose-forward, made his debut at wing on Saturday and coach Rassie Erasmus proclaimed himself happy with the youngster’s performance.

“I thought he did very well, I thought he was one of the stand-out players in the backline. It is a pity he could not get the last pass from Connie (Jantjes) because that might have been a brilliant moment for him.

“I cannot say if he did anything wrong apart from catching a bit of fresh air in the first half and after that he did the basics right. He got stuck in there for 80 minutes against one of the Super 14’s best backlines. A guy like Sireli is back in the mix and it is good to know you have got a guy like Nick Koster who can play right wing and loose-forward.

“I thought it was a successful exercise at the end of the day.”