Meihuizen return for WP boosts Stormers second row options

The return of David Meihuizen and Kade Wolhuter to the DHL Western Province team that has travelled to Durban to play the Cell C Sharks in a Carling Currie Cup match on Wednesday is a significant boost for more than just Jerome Paarwater’s men.

Meihuizen will start in the second row while Wolhuter will cover flyhalf off the bench. Meihuizen has been out with injury for a significant amount of time and Wolhuter even longer and both could be important players for the Stormers going forward.

Wolhuter is highly regarded by the Springbok brains trust of Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber and was one of their Poni (Players of national interest) when South African rugby returned from lockdown during the first year of the pandemic. The former Paul Roos Gymnasium pupil, who only turned 20 in July last year, made his debut for the Stormers in Super Rugby against the Toyota Cheetahs and impressed.

Stormers head coach John Dobson has high hopes for Manie Libbok, who was recruited from the Sharks before the start of the current season, but the former age-group star and Sharks and Bulls player turned in a performance that was a reminder of why he has a reputation for being inconsistent. Libbok does need to be backed but having Wolhuter as an alternative option who can push Libbok can only be good for the Stormers.

Wolhuter was injured during last year’s Rainbow Cup, where he was showing a lot of promise, and ruled out for the rest of the year.

Meihuizen is highly rated by Dobson as a potential lock star of the future and the coach has been itching to see him back in action after he was injured and ruled out at the start of the second half of last year. He teams up on Wednesday with Connor Evans, who is also considered a player with potential, and another star of the future in Simon Miller will be playing at blindside flank.

So the WP pack looks to have some teeth to it, though like the senior team (Stormers) was here last weekend, they could be a little short at scrum time due to the injury problems that continue to make themselves felt at tighthead at the Cape union. Neither Springbok Frans Malherbe nor the next in line at No 3, Neethling Fouche, have been available so far in the derby phase of the URC.

However WP coach Paarwater, and Dobson for that matter, will be pleased that the experienced loosehead Ali Vermaak, an underrated player who has struggled with injury over the past two years, is there to join Kwenzo Blose and Chad Solomon in the front row. Vermaak made his return as a replacement against the Bulls.

Former Springbok is also there to add his bulk and drive from the bench, while Roelof Smit, capped as a Bok, starts for WP for the first time after playing off the bench against the Vodacom Bulls two weeks ago. The WP team will be captained in Durban by Tim Swiel, who played flyhalf for the Sharks for a time when Jake White was coaching the Durbanites in 2014.

With Sergeal Petersen at fullback WP look to have a good enough mix of youthful promise and experience to challenge what on paper looks a potent Sharks team that was announced earlier on Tuesday.

DHL Western Province: Sergeal Petersen, Andre Manual, Mnombo Zwelendaba, Cornel Smit, Leolin Zas, Tim Swiel (captain), Godlen Masimla, Kake Morabe, Simon Miller, Roelof Smit, David Meihuizen, Connor Evans, Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, Chad Solomon, Ali Vermaak.

Replacements: Jacques Goosen, Kwenzo Blose, Corne Wellbach, Hilton Lobberts, Hannes Gous, Thomas Bursey, Kade Wolhuter, Ethan James.