Watermeyer stars on debut
30 Jan 2012
GARETH DUNCAN looks at the Saffas who impressed in Europe over the weekend.
Former Bulls and junior Springbok centre Stefan Watermeyer made a surprise exit at the Pretoria-based union in December to join Welsh club Ospreys on a short-term deal. With the recent retirement of Jaco Pretorius and release of Stephan Dippenaar, there was an opportunity for Watermeyer to compete with Wynand Olivier, Francois Venter and star signing Johann Sadie for a midfield berth. And considering the lengthy Super Rugby campaign, there would’ve been opportunities for the player who had represented the Bulls since U16 level.
However, the 23-year-old admitted that he always had the desire to feature in a foreign league, saying: ‘It’s a big move for me, but it’s something I’ve always wanted to do – to go and play overseas. There’s a lot of good players here [at Ospreys] with international exposure, who I’m looking forward to training with and trying to learn from.
‘I’m here initially until the end of the season but I want to do enough to show the coaches that I can be an Ospreys player for a lot longer.’
Centre Stefan Watermeyer on debut for Ospreys
A month and a half after the transfer announcement, Watermeyer made his senior debut for the club in the LV Cup, where he started in a 26-21 bonus-point victory over local rivals Newport Gwent Dragons in Bridgend. The No 12 scored a try and received the Man of the Match award for an outstanding all-round performance in front of a 6000-strong home crowd. Ospreys also started Krugersdorp-born wing Hanno Dirksen, who scored a 15th-minute try. It was Ospreys’ first win of the competition, following two earlier defeats.
In other LV Cup results, skipper and flanker Francois Louw and scrumhalf Michael Claassens helped Bath to a 46-14 drubbing of reserve prop Brian Mujati’s Northampton Saints. Despite showing poor form in the European Cup and the English Premiership, Bath are one of two undefeated teams in the competition with three bonus-point wins.
Saracens rested most of their nine Saffas as they fielded a second string side in their 41-14 win over reserve fullback Errie Claassens’ Worcester Warriors. Tighthead prop Petrus du Plessis, loosehead prop John Smit and flanker Justin Melck started for the Watford club, with Melck scoring one of four tries.
In terms of management, former Springbok assistant coach Gary Gold started his director of rugby tenure at Newcastle Falcons with a 37-7 win over flanker Hendre Fourie’s Sale Sharks. Lock Adriaan Fondse and centre Corne Uys started for the victors.
In the French Top 14, centre Paul Bosch scored the decisive try in Montpellier’s 38-6 home win over Stade Francais. Lock Drikus Hancke was in the hosts’s run-on side while second rower Gerhard Mostert received a yellow card during his appearance for the visitors. Montepellier now hold a play-off place in the standings.
Loosehead prop Gurthro Steenkamp had a strong scrumming performance in Toulouse’s 19-13 win over outside centre Frans Steyn and No 8 Jacques Cronje’s Racing Metro. Reserve prop Daan Human came on for the defending champions in the 58th minute while in-form No 8 Shaun Sowerby started.
Captain and No 8 Joe van Niekerk led Toulon to a 50-10 thrashing of outside centre Sam Gerber’s 14-man Bayonne, who now drop to the foot of the table. Scrumhalf Rory Kockott kicked a crucial penalty in Castres’ 29-23 home win over Biarritz.
Fullback Scott Spedding scored a try in lock Retief Uys, No 8 Antonie Claassen and reserve flyhalf Riaan Swanepoel’s Brive’s 17-9 win over lock Gerrie Britz and reserve wing Rudi Coetzee’s Perpignan.
Scrumhalf Ricky Januarie started in Lyon’s vital 19-11 win over tighthead prop Gert Muller, lock Dewald Senekal and No 8 Adri Badenhorst’s Agen. The former Bok and Stormers No 9 was replaced by former Cheetahs halfback Tewis de Bruyn late in the second half.
10 Comments
30 Jan 2012, 07:51 am
well done Watermayer
flo…come home
30 Jan 2012, 08:21 am
Jeeez lots of South Africans doing nicely over there.
30 Jan 2012, 09:03 am
Some context: For both the Dragons and the Ospreys, this was severely depleted teams. Between Wales call-ups, injuries and first choice rested, the Ospreys fielded only 1 regular first choice player – Jonathan Thomas on the bench. Even Sonny Parker doesn’t make the first team anymore. The other ex-SA, Hanno Dirksen, sees more 1st team action. Dirksen qualifies for Wales later this year. First 30min was quite entertaining game, but after that it decended into an errorstrawn game with penalties at every scrum from a ref with no idea.
For a side like the Ospreys to field a weakened side in this competition isn’t the end of the world, but the English sides take it a bit more seriously. This is because a Heineken Cup place is offered for the winner. The English side have to qualify by league position, but the Welsh side are assured 3 places – and they only have 4 regions. Thus every year, it is the Dragons, the worst Welsh regions, best hope to make the Heineken Cup. But with Welsh squad in camp, even the Dragons were hard hit, including two Welsh WC players, Burns and Charteris, out longterm injured.
30 Jan 2012, 09:24 am
Regardless we have tons of good players playing overseas because they are not happy about being second or third in their provincial pecking order. The reason why South African teams will never dominate Super Rugby is because if they get a few injuries all of our depth is sitting over in the northern hemisphere playing rugby there
30 Jan 2012, 11:16 am
“In the French Top 14, centre Paul Bosch scored the decisive try in Montpellier’s 38-6 home win over Stade Francais.”
Decisive try? They won the game 38-6!
30 Jan 2012, 11:27 am
@Sasuke-5: Know the match situation before you read a game by its score: http://www.keo.co.za/2012/01/27/bosch-seals-montpellier-win/
30 Jan 2012, 11:53 am
@Sasuke-5:
some games are not being won by the scoreboard alone, they are being won or lost elswhere…
30 Jan 2012, 20:31 pm
I thought some of these guys might be pulling pensions rather than pulling rugby jerseys over their heads.
I’m thinking Adri Badenhorst, Gerrie Brits, Justin Melck. Just shows how young they were when they ducked north.
31 Jan 2012, 00:09 am
Why on earth Watermeyer left for an overseas club aged 23, when he was starting to make an impression for the Bulls is beyond me – kid needs a wake up call or a new manager – what a waste of a talent – the kid has Bok potential
31 Jan 2012, 05:15 am
@Saffex-9:
Bok potential!?!?!?!?!
He wasn’t going to get game time ahead of Wynand Olivier, Johann Sadie & Francois Venter…. and they can’t keep everybody under contract.
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