BRUISING Western Province flank Rynhardt Elstadt is looking forward to his role as a breakdown specialist during the 2015 Currie Cup season.<\/p>\n
Elstadt\u201a who started his career as a lock\u201a is a big man for a fetcher at 1.95m tall.<\/p>\n
He has always been a hard ball-carrier and strong defender\u201a but coach John Dobson backs him to make an impact in the battle for the ball on the deck.<\/p>\n
\u201cRynhardt is very important for us because we have a formative pack\u201a\u201d Dobson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has five Super Rugby campaigns in the bank\u201a which makes him a vital component of our team this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bruising flank has suffered a litany of injuries over the past two seasons\u201a but he is positive that after recovering from a broken leg sustained in week two of Super Rugby\u201a that he is ready for his new role.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo6 is a role I can fulfil\u201a\u201d Elstadt said. \u201cI\u2019ve been doing a lot of hard work to get back to where I was after a long injury lay off.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll try to be competitive the day I hit the field again. Five months is a long time away from the game\u201a but I\u2019ll need a few games to get up to full speed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m hoping to continue playing openside flank. Getting to the breakdown first and removing stealers so we can get quick ball\u201a is something I\u2019ve always tried to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cA couple of years ago I didn\u2019t have a brain and just played towards the ball. But after a few serious injuries I\u2019ve tried to adapt my game and pick my moments to hit rucks and show my physical side.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a bit cleverer but injuries just happen\u201a it\u2019s one of those things in rugby.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dobson was also considering making the players train on their off day before the season opener against Griquas in Kimberley on Friday.<\/p>\n
There is a hooker crisis at Western Province with Scarra Ntubeni with the Springboks\u201a Michael Willemse injured\u201a Bongi Mbonambi in doubt for the game and Neil Rautenbach having moved to Free State. Even under-21 hooker Chad Solomon is unavailable.<\/p>\n
\u201cBongi has a hamstring strain and is only 50-50 for the game\u201a\u201d Dobson said. \u201cWe brought in Marius Fourie from the Eagles and he also played for Pukke in the Varsity Cup.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve also called up Vodacom Cup reserve hooker Charlie van Jaarsveld. Chad Solomon has a neck strain and has been unable to train this week.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously that raises some questions about our lineout and we\u2019re doubling our training time on lineouts. But it\u2019s a short week. We might have to train on our off day\u201a even though players don\u2019t like it.\u201d \u2013 The Times<\/p>\n
Source: RDM News Wire.<\/p>\n