Pumas hopes to counter Frans and ‘Spicy Plum’ show with their own ‘Monster’

• The Stormers arrive at the Lowveld with the “Spicy Plum” and Frans Malherbe instilling fear, but the Cougars hope their own “Monster” can counter the duo.
• The underrated Morgan Naude has been in good shape for the Pumas at Super Rugby Unlocked.
• Jimmy Stonehouse has told his props to relax and trust his system for dealing with the world-class stars of the Capetonians.

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Given the chaos they have caused in scrums to date, it would be understandable for Pumas fans to distrust Steven. “Spicy plum“(Spicy Plum, his nickname isiXhosa) The arrival of Kitshoff and Frans Malherbe in Nelspruit with the Stormers.

However, the home team could counter that threat with their own “Monster”, Morgan naude, at the Super Rugby Unlocked meeting on Friday.

The diminutive but powerful loose-headed mainstay, described as such by his high school coach earlier this week, put in an outstanding performance against Griquas last week, leading the scrums and maintaining a considerable work rate.

“I feel really proud when I think about it. A local kid facing world-class opposition,” said Jimmy Stonehouse, the Pumas’ director of rugby.

“Morgan is a former Hoërskool Nelspruit star who, for now at least, has stayed home and is adding value to our team.”

The astute 56-year-old mentor has been encouraged by Naude’s willingness to act as the team’s anchor at scrums.

“Morgan is relatively small for a propeller (1.79m and 108kg), but it really packs a punch,” Stonehouse said.

“He is a very strong boy. But I must also emphasize that he is very compact and mobile for his position. He carries the ball effectively and is excellent on the ground.”

“That’s the direction modern rugby is moving in. You have to be versatile as an accessory without neglecting your core duties.”

The Pumas are hardly oblivious to the challenge that comes their way (the Stormers have eight World Cup Springboks in their larger squad) and have maintained realistic expectations of what they should be able to get out of the game.

That extends to the threat posed by Kitshoff and Malherbe.

“There’s been a lot of talk about how we’re going to handle those two men on set pieces. They’re amazing players,” Stonehouse said.

“Of course we’ve been doing some work for Morgan and the rest of the props. There will be no shortage of efforts to try to override Steven and Frans.

“But I think the key will be to trust our plans and try to execute them as best we can. That’s all we can do. If even that later turns out to be ineffective, then you know it’s simply because of the Stormers scrummers. top pedigree and okay.

“The guys also shouldn’t forget that it’s an incredible opportunity to learn from them.”

The start in Nelspruit is at 19:00.