WP / Stormers BACK TO THE FUTURE!

[OomStruisbaai]

So the Boland schools then.

Well the Boland schools gave Jake White KLA, Papier and a range of players through their structures. Their top rugby school (Bere) runs a scholarship for Boland boys to be scout

PRG, Gim, HJS & Landbou.
So all the good schools?

Its been like this since rugby started in SA. When Schalk Burger and Liefling were in matrix those schools except PRG played for Boland in Craven Week. It was a disaster. The Boland schools went ape shite. They dont want those schools, they had their own kingdom. Tipical......

[Chilli]

Well the Boland schools gave Jake White KLA, Papier and a range of players through their structures. Their top rugby school (Bere) runs a scholarship for Boland boys to be scout

PRG, Gim, HJS & Landbou.
So all the good schools?

Its been like this since rugby started in SA. When Schalk Burger and Liefling were in matrix those schools except PRG played for Boland in Craven Week. It was a disaster. The Boland schools went ape shite. They dont want those schools, they had their own kingdom. Tipical......

So they have been bending the rules since then.

[OomStruisbaai]

Boland vote against their inclusion. They have their own kingdom

[OomStruisbaai]

[OomStruisbaai]

Stormers do their yearly conditioning camp In George.

Stormers team for warmup against SWD on friday
Stormers XV – 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Courtnall Skosan, 13 Mnombo Zwelendaba, 12 Cornel Smit, 11 Ben Loader, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Marcel Theunissen, 7 Jarrod Taylor, 6 Willie Engelbrecht, 5 Gary Porter, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Ali Vermaak.
Subs: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Lizo Gqoboka, 19 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 20 Hendre Stassen, 21 Dylan Sjoblom, 22 Keenan Opperman, 23 Tom Bursey, 24 Godlen Masimla, 25 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 26 Juan de Jongh, 27 Chris Hollis, 28 Warrick Gelant.

[average joe]

To think Scara was once considered for the Boks.

[OomStruisbaai]

To think Scara was once considered for the Boks.

He is on his way to the $hark$.

[OomStruisbaai]

RUGBY: PHANGELA EAGLES VS DHL STORMERS - UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP WARM UP
https://live.supersportschools.com/even ... 7e5034a968

[OomStruisbaai]

So Wynand Claassen's efforts to poach Newlands also came to nul. WPRU now can sell the property and settle their debts fully.

$tormer$ on the up!

[OomStruisbaai]

Stormers XV (vs SWD) – 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Chris Hollis, 12 Juan de Jongh, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 9 Herschel Jantjies (c), 8 Marcel Theunissen, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Nama Xaba, 5 Gary Porter, 4 Hendre Stassen, 3 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 2 Andre-Hugo Venter, 1 Lizo Gqoboka.
Subs: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Leon Lyons, 19 Dylan Sjoblom, 20 Keenan Opperman, 21 Jarrod Taylor, 22 Tom Bursey, 23 Brendan Venter, 24 Bingo Ivanesevic.
Stormers XV (vs Sharks) – 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Courtnall Skosan, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Ben Loader, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Hacjivah Dayimani, 6 Willie Engelbrecht, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Neethling Fouche (c), 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Kwenzo Blose.
Subs: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 Hendre Stassen, 20 Jarrod Taylor, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Stefan Ungerer, 23 Mnombo Zwelendaba, 24 Clayton Blommetjies.

Wonder when he would come through the system. Was pretty good as schoolboy for Paul Roos

[OomStruisbaai]

2023 Stormers /WP squad
Fullback Warrick Gelant, Clayton Blommetjies,
Wings Angelo Davids, Leolin Zas Courtnall Skosan, Ben Loader, Seabello Senatla, Suileman Hartzenberg
Midfield Damian Willemse, Ruhan Nel, Dan du Plessis, Chris Hollis, Juan de Jongh, Cornel Smith, Mnombo Zwelendaba
Flyhalf Manie Libbok, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Jurie Matthee, Jean-Luc du Plessis,
9 Paul de Wet, Herschel Jantjies , Stefan Ungerer, Tom Bursey,
8 Evan Roos, Marcel Theunissen,
7 Ben-Jason Dixon, Hacjivah Dayimani,
6 Deon Fourie, Nama Xaba, Willie Engelbrecht
Locks Salman Moerat, Ruben van Heerden, Adre Smith, Gary Porter, Hendre Stassen, Connor Evans
TH Frans Malherbe, Neethling Fouche, Lee-Marvin Mazibuko,
2 Joseph Dweba, Andre-Hugo Venter, JJ Kotze, Scarra Ntubeni
LH Ali Vermaak, Brok Harris, Lizo Gqoboka, Sti Sithole, Leon Lyons Kwenzo Blose.

[OomStruisbaai]

Unbeaten DHL WP U21 vs Bulls in CC semi final on saturday in Citi Park.: 15 Luke Burger, 14 Duran Koevort, 13 Meyr Retief, 12 Damian Markus, 11 Joshua Boulle, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (captain), 9 Asad Moos, 8 Armand Maritz, 7 Louw Nel, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Connor Evans, 4 Reynhardt Crous, 3 Corne Weilbach, 2 Lukhanyo Vokozela, 1 Vernon Matongo.
Replacements: 16 Keagan Blanckenberg, 17 Lamla Nunu, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Edrich Viljoen, 20 Enos Ndiao, 21 Eric Basson, 22 Imad Khan, 23 Kian Davis.

[OomStruisbaai]

Stormers vs Sharks warmup live stream
https://live.supersportschools.com/even ... 9847a939c/

[assfly]

Stormers vs Sharks warmup live stream
https://live.supersportschools.com/even ... 9847a939c/

What time is kick-off?

[OomStruisbaai]

Stormers vs Sharks warmup live stream
https://live.supersportschools.com/even ... 9847a939c/

What time is kick-off?

Stormers

The doubleheader will get underway at Outeniqua Park at 15h30, when the first DHL Stormers XV take on the SWD Eagles.

A different combination will then take the field at 18h00 to face the Hollywoodbets Sharks.

[assfly]

Cheers Oom.

I like my disappointment to start with pre-season.

[OomStruisbaai]

Stormers losing their captain for 5 months. Bors besering. Neetling Fouche take over the captaincy

[OomStruisbaai]

Daunne Vermeulen to the Stormers as players coach like Brok Harris

https://www.news24.com/sport/rugby/unit ... r-20231030

[OomStruisbaai]

The Stormers Springboks can take as long as they want before joining again. Most probably after the Stormers tour.

[OomStruisbaai]

Latest Sharks recruit

https://x.com/THESTORMERS/status/172663 ... 63178?s=20

[Sandstorm]

Irritated that our lineout is the weak link in our team this season. Wish the Stomps Management had recognised this and bought Marx and/or Etsebeth.

[LoveOfTheGame]

Irritated that our lineout is the weak link in our team this season. Wish the Stomps Management had recognised this and bought Marx and/or Etsebeth.

Didn't have the $$$. But aren't they trying their best to get RG for next season? Not very probable I guess.

[Sandstorm]

Irritated that our lineout is the weak link in our team this season. Wish the Stomps Management had recognised this and bought Marx and/or Etsebeth.

Didn't have the $$$. But aren't they trying their best to get RG for next season? Not very probable I guess.

We need a monster to dominate at the front of our lineout/put the oppo off their throw. Salman and his Crew of Kids scare no-one unfortunately.

[OomStruisbaai]

Well I thought Stassen and specially Conor Evans played well last night. Evans have a bright future.

[OomStruisbaai]

If we had Rudie Matthee for the URC tour we would had a few wins. The kid was superb against Pollard. He adopted better tothose conditions then Libbok have. They should have used him doing all the kicking. Blommetjies vok everything up.

[assfly]

If we had Rudie Matthee for the URC tour we would had a few wins. The kid was superb against Pollard. He adopted better tothose conditions then Libbok have. They should have used him doing all the kicking.

He was very good, all things considered. There is something to be said for throwing kids in the deep-end, they don't seem to be scared.

[OomStruisbaai]

If we had Rudie Matthee for the URC tour we would had a few wins. The kid was superb against Pollard. He adopted better tothose conditions then Libbok have. They should have used him doing all the kicking.

He was very good, all things considered. There is something to be said for throwing kids in the deep-end, they don't seem to be scared.

He played field hockey from u14-16 and changed back to rugby. Dont think he played for Paarl Gim's first team as u18. like Grant Williams.

[OomStruisbaai]

Stormers deal nearly done.

https://rugby365.com/news-united-rugby- ... -revealed/

[OomStruisbaai]

Rudi Mathee
Maties Rugby

Maties Rugby captain knows how to perform under pressure
14 Mar 2023 / rugby
The Maties Rugby captaincy means more to him than running first out of the tunnel, for Jurie Matthee it is the opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life.

“With the captaincy comes the responsibility to drive the team’s culture, set the standards and take the lead when the going gets tough. For me, however, the biggest opportunity with this platform is the one that gives me the privilege of making a real difference in a teammate’s life. Not only as a player, but also as an individual,” says Matthee, who made his senior debut for Maties in 2021.

The 22-year-old Matthee took over the captaincy from Gift Dlamini in just the second game of the FNB Varsity Cup series after Dlamini suffered a serious knee injury.

If you ask Matthee what makes his team special, he stops for a moment, this answer comes from his heart.

“It’s our fighting spirit. These guys don’t know about giving up. I’m not saying it always works out, but I know that my teammates won’t give up, no matter what happens. With that comes brotherhood. It is something that is unconditional. We accept each other for who each person is. We are aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses, but that is not what we build on. Every player wants to improve on the field, but everyone also wants to reach their full potential as a person,” says Matthee.

Matthee obtained his BAccHons degree in 2022. On its own, this is already an exceptional achievement considering that it is one of Stellenbosch University’s most challenging programmes. However, Matthee did this while establishing himself as a first-choice player for Maties as well.

“There were those who said I wouldn’t be able to complete my BAcc degrees and play rugby for Maties…like my teammates, however, I wasn’t prepared to give up!” says Matthee, who played for the Maties Young Guns in 2020.

Other 2020 Young Guns teammates now in action for Maties in the Varsity Cup tournament include locks Juan Beukes and Thys Kitshoff, flank Simon Miller and scrumhalf Tom Bursey.

Matthee played his first Varsity Cup match in 2021 against UWC. It was in the bubble in Pretoria where the tournament took place due to the then Covid-19 restrictions. This year, Matthee made his mark right from the start as a role player for Maties in the unforgettable meeting with Ikeys in the opening game of the tournament.

When Matthee stepped up for the decisive kick of the match, one could not tell from his facial expression that the entire Maties Rugby structure – players and management – along with a filled to the rafters Danie Craven’s expectations rested on his right foot. After all, this is one of Matthee’s character traits as a player and leader: calmness under pressure.

The choice to come to Matieland was an easy one for Matthee, who matriculated at Paarl Gymnasium.

“My grandfather and father studied at Maties and stayed in Dagbreek. In later years, my cousins exposed me to residence rugby. I quickly developed a desire to experience this as well. I will be honest and add that my dream quickly became bigger than just playing residence rugby here at Maties. There is a romance about this town…”

[OomStruisbaai]

Dobson way forward

John Dobson hailed the investment of the Red Disa Consortium as a historic moment for Western Province Rugby, but said the DHL Stormers have no intention of overhauling the squad with big-name signings.

Last week, it was confirmed that Red Disa’s equity deal in securing a controlling shareholding in WP Professional Rugby Pty Ltd had been approved by the South African Competition Commission.

The move is a major step forward in securing the financial future of the Stormers and moving WP Rugby out of administration.

Stormers coach Dobson applauded the WPRFU clubs for voting in favour of giving a 74% share of the business wing to the Red Disa consortium, and confirmed that the funds will not be invested in a squad makeover.

“We’re not going to get flashy, fly around in jets, go on holiday in Ibiza and start writing huge cheques,” Dobson said. “What we are going to do is to provide a better service to our players in every aspect, such as with conditioning and things like that.

“We are not going to buy 12 new players like some other teams. We have a very good base to work from and the more cohesion we build, the better we will get,” he added.

“What we will be able to do is fill a big void when someone leaves us. If a top player such as Steven Kitshoff gets a big offer from elsewhere, we might be able to keep him with a competitive offer. Or it will be a longer conversation when talking about the possibility of getting RG Snyman.

“However, it’s not our style to press Control, Alt, Delete on the group.”

The Red Disa consortium is made up of Cape Town-based investment holding company Fynbos Ekwiteit and Ardagh Glass Packaging, a global business with a strong South African presence. The Cape-based personal investment company of Andre van der Veen, Marble Head Investments, completes the consortium.

“Both do it for philanthropic reasons,” Dobson explained.

“They want us to be viable and are going to drive the commercial side of things. They realize that we are doing decently on the rugby side, but need a little support.

“This might mean that we don’t have to ask Brok Harris – after he played against the Leicester Tigers – to travel back to the Cape in economy class via Qatar.

“We don’t have to worry about that noise and constant sideshows on the front pages. We had to work for a long time with one hand tied behind our back.

“We feel a little bad because we are not experiencing a wonderful season to date, but the investors have a long-term vision.

“We probably work with a budget of 30% less than certain other teams. It doesn’t bother us. The way we competed – with everything that went on behind the scenes – is a testament to the work of many remarkable people within the organisation.”

[Margin__Walker]

Dobson interviewed for the Times rugby podcast this week. Around half way through. Talks about the different comps, logistical challenges, Libbok, Loader, taking a shower at the finale of tight games, texts from neighbours about baboons etc.

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t ... 0638958750

[OomStruisbaai]

Thanks Boet.

[OomStruisbaai]

Talented Wandisile Simelane to the Stormers. Cornel Smith to the Bulls on loan. Watch Simelane developing at the Stormers.

[assfly]

Talented Wandisile Simelane to the Stormers. Cornel Smith to the Bulls on loan. Watch Simelane developing at the Stormers.

Why couldn't you "develop" Cornel Smit?

[OomStruisbaai]

Talented Wandisile Simelane to the Stormers. Cornel Smith to the Bulls on loan. Watch Simelane developing at the Stormers.

Why couldn't you "develop" Cornel Smit?

He is only on loan at the Bulls untill the end of the season. Coming back. Also a 12 not 13.

[Blake]

Talented Wandisile Simelane to the Stormers. Cornel Smith to the Bulls on loan. Watch Simelane developing at the Stormers.

I hope he can shine, because I've never really rated him. The kid has some wheels, but he's always seemed a bit of a selfish player to me.

[bok_viking]

It is a shame Simelane did not kick on at the Bulls, I was hoping he would be a very impactful signing for the bulls. But as it stand he does not come close to Gans and Kriel to try get a regular center spot and when he played his performances was pretty average.. So most of his games for the Bulls have been on the wing and he is just not fast enough for a wing. Unfortunately with guys like Moody and Arendse his playing time was always going to be very limited on the wing as well.
Maybe he can kick on at the Stormers but not so sure, right now he looks like a squad player at most unfortunately.

[OomStruisbaai]

The Stormers have quite a lot of backline depth. I feel Willemse best position is 12, backup Dan du Plessis , Sasha MZ and Pince , Loader, Sas, Davids and Courtnall to wing. Simelane and Hartzenberg in his preferred position of 13 and Dan du Plessis (to me 13 is his best position) and Loader. Libbok , Sasha MZ and Rudi Matthee in 10. Gelant and Blommetjies in 15. De wet , Jantjies, Ungerer in 9.

Versatility is needed with a bench split of 6/2 and cards.

[Chilli2]

Is Wolhuter still on loan at the Lions?
I haven't seen him on any team sheets.

[OomStruisbaai]

Is Wolhuter still on loan at the Lions?
I haven't seen him on any team sheets.

He is in the Lions touring group to France for this weekend match