Injuries to midfielders Ruan Nel and Juan de Jongh meant that while the DHL Stormers were still committed to bringing through their younger players in the squad, they needed to make a short-term decision to sign Samoan international Alapati Leiua.
Stormers coach John Dobson explained the decision to sign the Samoan ahead of the start of their defence of their Vodacom United Rugby Championship title this weekend when they face Irish side Connacht in Stellenbosch.
Dobson, writing in his online column on the Stormers website, said the losses in the backline meant the team needed to look for some experience, and Leiua is easily one of the most experienced players they could find.
“We have lost two experienced centres in Ruan (Nel) and Juan (de Jongh) to injury and while we have exciting talent in the squad, I felt it necessary to bring in an experienced campaigner with the qualities to make an impact on the field and mentor the younger talent,” Dobson wrote.
“We are very fortunate to have signed Samoan international Alapati Leiua. He has played 279 professional matches since his debut for Wellington in New Zealand in 2009 and the last of his 31 tests for Samoa was in the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
“Alapati has shown great loyalty to the teams he has represented, having played 101 matches for Wellington and the Hurricanes, 104 matches for Bristol Bears and 43 times for Wasps when he first moved from New Zealand to the English Premiership.
“He brings experience to our group and while our vision is to develop our youngsters and to give them as much opportunity as possible, there are times when circumstances make for a short-term decision. We believe his track record speaks for itself and wherever he has gone, he has made his presence felt on the field.
“He is in the final phase of his professional career but in the enforced absence of so many midfield veterans and the departure of experienced outside backs like Sergeal Petersen and Warrick Gelant, it was imperative to give the youngsters in the squad the necessary on-field support through a player of Alapati’s quality and his experience.
“He won’t play in the first two home matches, as we have rewarded the work and effort from the pre-season. Those Springboks released on Monday also won’t play this weekend and their integration into the match 23 will be consistent with our league objectives, and our commitment to working closely with the national set-up when it comes to managing the workload of those currently in the Springboks squad.”
Dobson also was looking forward to the team’s new home base in Stellenbosch, where they will play some of their games because of the DHL Stadium being unavailable.
“Circumstances beyond anyone’s control means we play our first match of the league in Stellenbosch and the following week we will be back home at the DHL Stadium to face Edinburgh. The Stellenbosch connection will always be special to rugby in the region and the Danie Craven Stadium is also a field where we turned it on in style against Zebre Parma last season in a performance that showed our capabilities and inspired confidence.
“The match-day squad for Saturday’s league opener against Connacht will look very different to the 23 that won the title. Springbok commitments, departures and injury have contributed to some of the changes, but the 23 who will start our title defence have been rewarded for their pre-season efforts.
“It is exciting and the squad is a blend of dads and kids, which gives us great balance. It is going to be a big rugby day in Stellenbosch and, if you can, make a weekend out of it. There will be a village-type area in which to watch the Springboks hopefully win the Castle Lager Rugby Championship after our match.
“The boys really appreciate the support and if you live in the area and can’t always get to DHL Stadium in Cape Town, we’d love to have you giving us that advantage that comes with a passionate home crowd.”
The Stormers are likely to name their side for the clash on Friday.