BRUISING Western Province flank Rynhardt Elstadt is looking forward to his role as a breakdown specialist during the 2015 Currie Cup season.
Elstadt‚ who started his career as a lock‚ is a big man for a fetcher at 1.95m tall.
He has always been a hard ball-carrier and strong defender‚ but coach John Dobson backs him to make an impact in the battle for the ball on the deck.
“Rynhardt is very important for us because we have a formative pack‚” Dobson said.
“He has five Super Rugby campaigns in the bank‚ which makes him a vital component of our team this year.”
The bruising flank has suffered a litany of injuries over the past two seasons‚ but he is positive that after recovering from a broken leg sustained in week two of Super Rugby‚ that he is ready for his new role.
“No6 is a role I can fulfil‚” Elstadt said. “I’ve been doing a lot of hard work to get back to where I was after a long injury lay off.
“I’ll try to be competitive the day I hit the field again. Five months is a long time away from the game‚ but I’ll need a few games to get up to full speed.
“I’m hoping to continue playing openside flank. Getting to the breakdown first and removing stealers so we can get quick ball‚ is something I’ve always tried to do.
“A couple of years ago I didn’t have a brain and just played towards the ball. But after a few serious injuries I’ve tried to adapt my game and pick my moments to hit rucks and show my physical side.
“I’m a bit cleverer but injuries just happen‚ it’s one of those things in rugby.”
Dobson was also considering making the players train on their off day before the season opener against Griquas in Kimberley on Friday.
There is a hooker crisis at Western Province with Scarra Ntubeni with the Springboks‚ Michael Willemse injured‚ Bongi Mbonambi in doubt for the game and Neil Rautenbach having moved to Free State. Even under-21 hooker Chad Solomon is unavailable.
“Bongi has a hamstring strain and is only 50-50 for the game‚” Dobson said. “We brought in Marius Fourie from the Eagles and he also played for Pukke in the Varsity Cup.
“We’ve also called up Vodacom Cup reserve hooker Charlie van Jaarsveld. Chad Solomon has a neck strain and has been unable to train this week.
“Obviously that raises some questions about our lineout and we’re doubling our training time on lineouts. But it’s a short week. We might have to train on our off day‚ even though players don’t like it.” – The Times
Source: RDM News Wire.
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