Koster adds golden touch to Gary’s day

Koster adds golden touch to Gary’s day

19 Jan 2013

Nick Koster scored for Bath in a crushing win to secure a home quarter-final in the European Shield competition.

The Shield is for those teams not competing in the European Cup. Only five teams from the Shield qualify for the play-offs and are joined by three teams who miss out on the European Cup quarter-finals.

Bath, who have struggled in the Premiership for consistency, were always going to be too strong for Bucaresti and won easily 53-8. The team, coached by former Springbok assistant coach Gary Gold, won all six league matches in the qualifying rounds.

Former Stormers loose forward and SA Schools sensation Koster is back to full fitness after a year out with a knee injury and got among the scorers. Koster, who was schooled at Bishops in Cape Town, qualifies through ancestry to play for England, and Gold is not alone in believing Koster will be in the England side by the 2015 World Cup.

Gloucester also finished unbeaten in the group stages and London Wasps, who won 20-19 against the Newport Gwent Dragons earlier in the week, also qualify for the quarter-finals.


8 Comments

  • 1.lepel: Reply to this comment
    20 Jan 2013, 09:11 am

    Koster playing for England… wow, that is sensationalism if I ever read it.

    I’d pick him behind Vermeulen, Kolisi and Carr at the Stormers. So if he becomes no 1 for England, that says a whole lot about their own player pool’s ineptitude.

    Furthermore, Koster will struggle on the heavier fields of Europe. He’s not a hard working, grinding loose forward. I can’t see this flash-in-the-pan guy really going anywhere.

  • 2.brains_trust: Reply to this comment
    20 Jan 2013, 10:24 am

    Am I the only one getting sic and tired of South African born sportsmen playing for England. England Rugby and Cricket teams don’t mind using SA born players do they?

  • 3.brains_trust: Reply to this comment
    20 Jan 2013, 10:28 am

    @lepel – I think Koster has a good chance of being a superstar on the international stage.

  • 4.grant10: Reply to this comment
    20 Jan 2013, 10:36 am

    Koster was 1 st choice with Schalk and Vermeulen beginning of super rugby last year….this oke can play…pity about the injuries that blighted his wp and stormers career.

  • 5.DumpsterDiver: Reply to this comment
    20 Jan 2013, 10:52 am

    He will struggle on the heavier fields cos he’s not a hard working, grinding
    loose forward? Really? How is it then that we have these great conditions
    here for expansive rugby but consistently produce the most mind-numbingly
    boring teams in the Super Rugby competition and at test level?
    This guy will be a star if he can stay relatively injury free.

  • 6.David: Reply to this comment
    20 Jan 2013, 11:05 am

    @lepel-1:
    Newlands in winter is about the closest you’ll get to NH conditions in SA. Besides, the playing conditions in NZ hasn’t affected their ability to play an open game.

  • 7.carol: Reply to this comment
    20 Jan 2013, 11:16 am

    @David-6:

    I was at Newlands for the 2009 Lions game v Baby Boks.

    I was colder than I have ever been at Cardiff!! :-)

  • 8.Tarlo: Reply to this comment
    20 Jan 2013, 12:38 pm

    @lepel-1: Bit harsh, he’s never really hit his stride in SA and he showed a lot of potential in his youth, don’t forget he has a Barbarians selection under his belt. I think he’ll flourish with regular game time and if he ends up with a rose on his chest, good for him but I don’t think he had a Bok future.

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