Dylan des Fountain's pace, size and explosiveness could land him a place at right wing for the Stormers in Saturday's Super 14 clash against the Waratahs in Sydney.
It is believed Des Fountain trained with the team on the wing on Monday. Wylie Human flew to Sydney from Cape Town on Sunday but hadn't arrived by late Monday night Australian time. That would mean that Human would only be able to train possibly in the afternoon session on Tuesday or from Wednesday onwards.
After injuries to Tonderai Chavhanga and Nick Koster the Stormers cannot afford to go into a game with a wing not totally versed with all the calls and plans.
Des Fountain possesses good speed and has an eye for the gap
Des Fountain has been on tour from the start and has played wing for the Stormers before, under previous coach Kobus van der Merwe. Normally an outside centre, his 1.87m, 96kg frame will come in handy on defence, as he will be marking big Waratahs and Wallaby wing Lote Tuqiri on Saturday.
Des Fountain possesses good speed and has an eye for the outside gap but his career has been hampered by injury. Gcobani Bobo, who played in the No.14 jersey in the 11-7 defeat to the Crusaders, is set to move to outside centre with captain Jean de Villiers moving to inside centre. Peter Grant is also expected to replace Willem de Waal at flyhalf.
Conrad Jantjes is set to come back into the starting line-up at fullback. Percy Montgomery and De Waal, who both had poor games against the Crusaders, are expected to drop to the bench.
Meanwhile Stormers loose forward Luke Watson says he is preparing himself for a "huge battle" for the loose ball against Waratahs captain Phil Waugh on Saturday. Waugh is a supreme stealer on the ground so the match-up could be one of the highlights of the game.
"Phil is a phenomenal player and has done it for many years," Watson said on Tuesday in his first interview of the Super 14 season. "It will be a great tussle, one I'm looking forward to."
Watson has been under tremendous pressure on and off the field
Watson has played more towards the ball in 2009 than in recent seasons and he will try to create turnovers for the Stormers to attack from. He said his role had changed in 2009 due to the arrival of ball-carrying loose forward Duane Vermeulen in the Cape.
"It depends on what Rassie wants from me. Duane is here now and has been superb this season as a ball-carrier and in creating play," said Watson.
"This has allowed me to put more time into playing towards the ball and competing at the breakdowns."
Watson has been under tremendous pressure on and off the field after being booed earlier this season for his controversial comments about the Springbok jersey and Afrikaners last year.
But when asked about how he felt about it and how he has dealt with the situation, Watson said simply: "I do not want to comment on that. I will gladly speak about the Crusaders game or the upcoming Waratahs game."
