Mike Greenaway
It wasn’t that long ago that Stormers coach John Dobson thought the rugby gods were winding him up up by injuring nearly all of the props in his greater squad but as the United Rugby Championship (URC) hits the business end, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Sti Sithole has been passed fit for selection and a timely boost it is the Capetonians hit the road for two vital matches overseas. The Stormers left this morning for a Friday night match against the Dragons at Rodney Parade and next week they have a tricky game against Connacht in Galway.
During a pre-tour press conference yesterday, forwards coach Rito Hlungwani said that loosehead prop Sithole is good to go after injuring himself against the Bulls in Pretoria in March.
“Sti has been training,” Hlungwani said.
“He stands out because he hasn’t played in a while, but he has been training and will be up for selection. That takes a lot of pressure off a department where we have been very thin.”
Sithole was originally a Shark — he went to Westville Boys High, the school that has recently produced star centre Ethan Hooker — but he made his name at the Stormers before a stint at the Lions and a return to Cape Town. Sithole’s return to fitness will take the pressure off Brok Harris, who in turn has been filling the big boots of Steven Kitshoff.
“Sti has done really, really well,” Hlungwani said. “I’m not saying that Brok or Kwenzo (Blose) didn’t do well in his absence, but we have been really happy.
“His scrum work especially. When he’s in there, he competes well. He wins a lot of penalties. He operates well with Neethling (Fouche), Frans (Malherbe), and the hookers.
“He is a big gain for us going forward into the business end of the competition. We are happy to have him back.
“We just want to get him into proper, full fitness so he can push to play 60 minutes. That’s the next job for us, to get him game fit again.”
All in all the Stormers are in good shape and apart from Deon Fourie, they have nearly all their Springbok options available for the Dragons this week and Connacht the week after.
“An eight-day turnaround will be perfect for us as it means we will be able to get to Galway in good time and then spend a whole week there getting used to the conditions and to the 4G surface that we will be playing on,” said Hlungwani.
“The week off (while the Cup tournaments were underway) really helped us, it would be tough for us to be leaving while the players are recovering from a game and then expect them to be in action again on a Friday night.
“This time we have enough time to get there feeling fully recovered and fresh, and next week we get that full training week in Galway. So, it all works out quite well for us.”