Skeate in with Bok shout
3 Apr 2006
Stormers forwards coach Jerome Paarwater believes Ross Skeate has a realistic shot at Springbok selection this year.
Speaking to keo.co.za from the Stormers’ team hotel in Auckland, Paarwater endorsed the efforts of the young lock as “extremely impressive.”
“I think he’s really proved he’s a lock who can do a job for the Boks,” Paarwater said.
In a tight five routinely criticised, Skeate has consistently shone in the Vodacom Super 14 this season, providing a safe lineout option whilst remaining active around the park.
“He’s playing like an extra loose forward, and is running with the ball brilliantly. He has shown he has great hands, and has been explosive for us in the lineouts.”
Skeate’s relative inexperience could be the factor that ultimately determines his Bok fate this year. He only made one appearance off the bench for the Stormers last year, and so is realistically still in his debut season of regional rugby.
Paarwater does not believe this should be a factor, however.
“It’s not too early for him to get into the Bok side. Coaching wise we have managed him very carefully, and so his progression to Super 14 has been gradual. He’s got quite a few Currie Cup games under his belt and we haven’t rushed him.
“He’s taken his chances well, and is putting us as coaching staff under real pressure. We just can’t leave him out the side.”
Skeate will directly oppose All Black Ali Williams when the Stormers take on the Blues on Saturday.
By Chris Hewitt
42 Comments
3 Apr 2006, 12:24 pm
Come on guys, once again we are talking about Bok players when they have only just started performing at this level – let him show us performance for the rest of the tour at least and then start suggesting SA A team etc …
3 Apr 2006, 12:25 pm
Chris
Who do you think will parnter him against the Blues, i thought Britz had a good game?
3 Apr 2006, 12:26 pm
Agreed Spook, I reckon they’ll stick with Gerrie Britz.
Only change I expect will be Joe for Adri.
chris
3 Apr 2006, 12:30 pm
Ja, was great to see Joe again on Fri. he adds another dimension to the team.
3 Apr 2006, 12:34 pm
Joe is good and strengthens the Stormers team, however I reckon that he will start from the bench for the Boks if Smith, Venter & Burger are fit.
3 Apr 2006, 12:39 pm
Same old story, if you play for the Stormers, you’re “in wit a shout” for the Boks!
Ridiculous really. How many times has JW stated that your 2nd year in top level sport is the true test?
How many back up do the Boks currently have at lock?
Forgotten about AJ, Albert, Danie?
If Skeate is in with a shout, so should Fran van Schouwenburg.
3 Apr 2006, 12:42 pm
Keo
Kan kan jy ‘n springbok span saamstel hierdie jaar uit al die spelers wat ons het. Kies vir ons ‘n span met al die spelers in ag geneem spelers wat nog met besering sit sowel as oorsese spelers. Gee net ‘n indikasie van wat jy dink ons beste spelers gaan wees hierdie jaar.
3 Apr 2006, 12:46 pm
no chance should skeate be in with a shout, the province tight 5 have not shown anything extraorinary in years.
As wolverine says, those 3 are in the pecking order and some of the FS locks as well as Muller and Ackerman might have something to say.
3 Apr 2006, 12:51 pm
skeate is out of the blues match,will be replaced by bekker and henk eksteen on the bench.bekker (5) gerrie (4).
think jake must take both stormers lock (bekker&skeate) and coach them for the future! not play them now make them familiar with his bok “culture” etc
3 Apr 2006, 12:55 pm
I am a Stormers and Province supporter and I totally disagree with Paarwater’s comment. Skeate is not an imposing lock. If you can catch your own lineout ball you are not a contender for the Springboks. He is much lower in the pecking order and I will choose most of the S.A. Super 14 locks ahead of him except the Cats locks.
3 Apr 2006, 12:59 pm
Cubic, i agree. let venter crush them and then let joe dazzle them later on.
3 Apr 2006, 13:05 pm
whites i agree
the problem with some rugby fan’s is that you see someone running with the ball and hearing their name said over and over by the commentators,so you start to think ah this guy is good!! but you do not see ross hitting rucks or making big tackles? would you replace him with bakkies who is also a 4 lock? ross’s attacking ability is fantastic but he does not play a tight game “his like an extra loose forward” exactly my point!
3 Apr 2006, 13:14 pm
andrewp … read the thread about Jake’s boys start to fire … I have put my XV there.
3 Apr 2006, 13:16 pm
Boeja, the Stormers has enough quality loose forwards, our problem is that the tight five does not command any respect. We need to improve our tight five and to wait till Skeate and Bekker grow up is going to cost us a lot of games. Our props is not on Super 14 standard, especially Andrews he is a big softy that is not a player on international standard.
3 Apr 2006, 13:22 pm
white
our tight 5 have not been that bad,our loosies run with the ball alot! and sometimes alot of our tight is in the backline (brits,gerrie,skeate)i think bolla can maybe just pass the ball much quicker!
3 Apr 2006, 13:23 pm
Is he more a Matfield tipe lock or a Bakkies tipe lock?
3 Apr 2006, 13:26 pm
Full backs : Percy / Roets
Wings left and right : Habana / A Ndungane / Mentz / Paulse
Centre’s : Jean / Marius / Julies / Jacobs
Flyhalf : Pretoruis / Jaco / Bosman
Scrumhalf : Du Preez / Bolla / January
Forwards : What a headach
Pedrie . Matfield , Botha , Schalk , Smith , Skeete , Wannenburg , Andrews , Luke , Van Niekerk , Os , Brits , Shimange , J Smit , Ackermann , Venter , Van den Berg.
Comeon guys , who’s going to make it this year ? To manny players out there who can play good rugby this year. Put these guys together and we will have a good steady team.
But what will the Selectors do this year ?
3 Apr 2006, 13:28 pm
I our tight five was “not that bad” our log position would be higher. My opinion is that they are a bunch of softies and are to young to play on this level. I can’t wait another 3 years for them to become experienced and start playing decent rugga.
3 Apr 2006, 13:32 pm
white
so are you saying that the tight5 and NOT the backs are loosing us games? if you look at the missed tackle stats a beg to dif
3 Apr 2006, 13:40 pm
bok side:
percy
habana
marius J
jean
breyten
andre P
ricky
joe
schalk
juan
victor
bakkies
cj
john
os
B side&(and young side)
jp peterson
joe pietersen
wynand olivier
b.baret
(wing bulls)
hougaard
pienaar
spies
botes
luke
bekker
skeate
neil fullard
schalk brits
jd moller
3 Apr 2006, 13:41 pm
I like this guy, but as many guys said above there is currently about 3 locks who is better.
Problem is they don’t play for wp, and we all know if you play for wp your path is paved to the boks.
I think we should give him another yaer or 2 to develop properly
Tight 5 only reaching there best form from mid to late twenties. Anybody know how old this guy is.
3 Apr 2006, 13:43 pm
he can be imposing when he needs to, ask Boela (afgemoerde kakebeen) du Plooy who caused him to suck his food through a straw for 6 weeks. Nobody saw the shot, and that’s already being the signs of a good lock to come. Martin Johnson also seldomly got caught.
Think he is more of a Bakkies (mungrell)
lock, and also a very tall man.
3 Apr 2006, 13:48 pm
how many people on this site actually tape games and watch them over again?
3 Apr 2006, 13:53 pm
i tape stormers games!ross 24 years old.rather matfield lock than bakkies!!!! his not physical! ross planted a nice shot on boela!
3 Apr 2006, 13:54 pm
i think jerome paarwater is a passenger in the stormers management!!
3 Apr 2006, 14:00 pm
whites, i have to disagree with you. Our forwards are young yes, but it has been our backline who has cost us the games this yr. Our scrum has been solid as well as our driving play. Yes, the forwards are not there yet but they have been doing esceptionally well. have a look at all the games we played at home in the S14, except for the 1st half vs the Cheetahs we have dominated possession and we lost 3 games due to stupid mistakes from the backline players who have kicked away possession at crucial times…
Skeate is a good prospect, he has been consistent but he needs to keep performing as well as he has in order to be in with a shout. He has been the standout lock of all the SA teams bar maybe Ackerman from Sharks…
3 Apr 2006, 14:01 pm
boeja, who do you think coaches the forwards? Oh, and its not gary gold…
3 Apr 2006, 14:03 pm
15.Montgomery
14.Mentz
13.Fourie
12.de Villiers
11.Habana
10.Bosman
9.du Preez
8.Smith
7.Venter
6.Burger
5.Matfield
4.Botha
3.vd.Linde
2.Smit (c)
1.du Randt
16.G.Botha
17.Steenkamp
18.Roussouw
19.Watson
20.Pienaar
21.Jaco
22.Joubert
B Team
15.Jantjes
14.Ndungane
13.Cook
12.Barry
11.Pietersen
10.Pretorius
9.Davidson
8.Cronje
7.van Niekerk
6.Solly
5.Stoltz
4.van den Berg
3.BJ Botha
2.Von Biljon
1.Bands
16.Britz
17.Sephaka
18.Skeate
19.Spies
20.Januarie
21.Olivier
22.Ndungane
3 Apr 2006, 14:19 pm
Skeate= good player but I cant see him take the place of Bakkies or Vic and for that matter Danie so slow coming of the bench, if you run with the big dogs[All Blacks, France, England, Wallabies] you want these guys.
3 Apr 2006, 14:36 pm
Skeate is a promising young player but to talk of higher honours at this point in his career is just crazy … I also admire his workrate but I don’t think he has much choice … his lock partner A. Bekker is one of the lazier forwards doing the rounds in SA rugby …
Just like his old man there …
3 Apr 2006, 14:40 pm
CSI, Mentz? bwahahahhahahahaa
There’s a oke who plays for the Wildebeest in VCup who is miles better than Mentz. His name is Cedric Mkize. Remember that name…
3 Apr 2006, 14:48 pm
wpw
If he is so much better then why is he not in the S14, Mentz is a tidy player, and seems like in SA that you have got have 15 X-Factor players on the field at one time, I disagree, you can have a few X-factor players and hard workers, finishers, and thats where Mentz comes in. Look at Caleb Ralph with the Crusaders, he has over 50 Super tries because the X-factor players give it to a guy who they believe can finish the good work. Mentz is a very under-rated player, give him a go, it will only increase SA’s depth. I have no problems, I am an AB supporter, just think that Mentz and Watson would do alot better if they had played here in NZ!!!
3 Apr 2006, 15:20 pm
Please guys, get real.
Skeate still has another 5 years to go before hes name can be mentioned for the Springboks. Hes a bit too young and a bit too thin
3 Apr 2006, 15:28 pm
the king
5 years? Are you nuts?
CSI, he was in last yrs S14 squad, played a few games and scored some good tries. he is still young, he was SAU21 last yr. Anyway, he played under Putt last yr and i think he was thrown in at the deep end.
As for Mentz and Watson playing in NZ and doing better, i wouldnt argue with you, SA coaches are a bunch of idiots…
3 Apr 2006, 15:35 pm
Bakkies will have his way with Skeate, he has a long way to go, but he has the goods to play for the boks in the future
3 Apr 2006, 16:13 pm
Just another thumbsuck Stormers article from the lapdog-in-chief Chris.
How about an article on Jean Div? We have not had one for 2 days!
3 Apr 2006, 17:18 pm
HE HE HE he he This must be a belated April Fools joke. Or maybe that’s Spaarwater, van der Mooer & the other posers on the Stormers management team spindoctor being AWOL again.
Stormers are only as good as their last game which would give them bragging right to be better than the Force, Cats & Spears. Hardly a tight 5 to consider for Bok colours.
3 Apr 2006, 20:57 pm
Skeate is playing well and must be up there for a look in – however I sometimes feel that you can overplay a lock – Stormers did there best when they rotated locks (Boome, Louw, Davids, Traitsman) you need 3 locks in any setup and rotate. For this reason Gerrie Britz was playing Vodacom to keep him match fit. He is now in the mix ahead of Henksteen. Hottie louw was another lock that was on the frindges but never got a look in – and where is he now….
I tape and watch all Stormers games and they have not played badly this year so after checking the games again the fault lies with Bolla – he passes over the head of the flyhalf 50% of the passes – easy for the opersite side to rush and make a hit before the flyhalf can really control the game. from there that passes are **** and the wings very seldom see good ball. He is the week spot and reckon they should have give Delport a chance – it appears De Kock is got and injury as he does not even come of the bench – at least his passes are in the same place.
3 Apr 2006, 21:48 pm
I just don’t think that Rossie is ready, (and I know the bugger on a first name basis)
I think that Jake should be spending a lot of time moulding him into a Matfield clone. He has the potential to be just as good, when the master retires.
4 Apr 2006, 00:31 am
yomama i agree
skeate is definitely a matfield potential. the guy has exceptional hands from his basketball days and playing loosie for many years. he is young, but in a year or so the boks are going to need to take some weight off the shoulders of the big guys like matfield and bakkies. ross is someone who will continue to work at his game until he is the best.
jake does need to see the potential in bringing him into the bok picture by inviting him to training camps. this is the strategy that jake needs. guys like britz, luke and ross (all with obvious talent) need to get into jakes bok culture, similar to what henry has done with the AB’s extended squad. a couple of bolters and up and coming stars were invested in for years to come. jake, u want to have 2 strong selections for every position start looking at the bigger picture. there are other guys from other provinces who are in the same boat as this guy, ruan for exmple
4 Apr 2006, 04:40 am
welshbok
hitting a guy from the back really isn’t imposing, it’s more coward than anything else.
4 Apr 2006, 08:39 am
Guys, help me out here. New Zealand have about 44 players that can step into the first XV any day, what do we have? This is MY view.
15.) Percy Montgomery
14.) Breyton Paulse / Tonderai Chavanga
13.) Jacque Fourie / Marius Joubert
12.) Jean de Villiers / De Wet Barry
11.) Bryan Habana / Jongi Nokwe
10.) Andre Pretorius / Jaco v.d. Westhuysen
9.) Ricky January / Ruan Pienaar
8.) AJ Venter / Joe van Niekerk
7.) Juan Smith / Luke Watson
6.) Schalk Burger / Solly Tyibilika
5.) Victor Matfield / Ross Skeate
4.) Bakkies Botha / Danie Rossouw
3.) CJ van der Linde / BJ Botha
2.) John Smith / Gary Botha
1.) Os du Randt / Guthro Steenkamp
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