South Africa’s new Bakkies Botha and Victor Matfield partnership is growing right here in Cape Town, according to Stormers assistant coach Rito Hlungwane.
A former Western Province second-rower himself, Hlungwane knows what he is talking about when he says Salmaan Moerat and JD Schickerling sal nog diep spore trap in South African rugby.
While they competed well in the lineouts against the Lions in their 23-17 win last weekend, there were still some issues that need fixing in this department ahead of their trip to Nelspruit for Friday’s match against the Pumas.
But once ironed out and once they have regained match fitness, coach Hlungwane believes the Stormers have some golden locks in the future.
He says: “We set really high standards for ourselves in the lineouts and it’s something we must improve on. We might not be hitting top notch by Friday, but we want to see improvement.
“Salmaan [Moerat] and JD [Schickerling] are a really good combination.
“They come in the mould of Bakkies and Victor, I think they will terrorise teams for years to come.
“They combine really well - Salmaan focuses really hard on the physicality side of things, while JD is a sharp lineout organiser.
“So we are really fortunate to have the two combining really well.
“Behind them we have [David] Meihuizen, who is very promising coming through - he’ll challenge JD [Schickerling] for the No.5 jersey.
“Chris van Zyl is also really good and experienced, so we’re in a fortunate position to have all of them.”