Senatla a readymade replacement for Aplon as Stormers flyer

30 July 2014 - 15:37 By CRAIG RAY
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Seabelo Senatla of the Stormers during the Super Rugby match between DHL Stormers and Cell C Sharks at DHL Newlands Stadium on July 12, 2014 in Cape Town.
Seabelo Senatla of the Stormers during the Super Rugby match between DHL Stormers and Cell C Sharks at DHL Newlands Stadium on July 12, 2014 in Cape Town.

Flying wing Seabelo Senatla earned only two caps as a replacement for the Stormers in the dying embers of their Super Rugby campaign, but he is set to become an integral part of Western Province’s drive to reclaim the Currie Cup.

Senatla, 21, returned to South Africa last night with a Commonwealth Games Sevens gold medal to declare at customs after an astonishing individual effort that saw him score 11 tries in the two- day competition in Glasgow.

WP signed Senatla earlier this year on the understanding that he would complete his duties to the national Sevens team before progressing into the 15-man set up. It seems that it was a shrewd piece of business by a union often criticised for letting its best young talent escape.

With Gio Aplon off to France, Senatla is a natural replacement for the experienced flyer and in tandem with the hot-stepping Cheslin Kolbe, the pair could cause some problems for opposition defences.

Senatla scored 29 tries in the 2013-14 International Rugby Board World Sevens Series competition where SA finished second behind New Zealand.

“He has already played a few games for union in the colours of the Stormers when he came on as a right wing substitute and we see that as a role that he could fulfil for WP,” coach Allister Coetzee said.

“His pace is a massive attribute that will compliment the ball-in-hand style of play we are striving to achieve. He is a great finisher.

“In the slightest amount of space he can find a way through using his speed.

“I’m not saying we’re going to run the ball from everywhere but we want to create opportunities for players of the calibre of Seabelo and Cheslin. That could mean forcing the opposition to kick poorly so that we have counter-attacking chances.

“We want to bring them into play as much as possible and structure our play in a way that we bring a guy like Seabelo into the equation through pressure in broken play.

“Seabelo has signed with us for the Currie Cup, which is the agreement we have with him and the SA Rugby Union (SARU).

“He will make an easy transition even though he has been away, because a lot of the technical aspects of the game he has already worked on while he was in the Stormers group.

“I have no doubt that when he joins us for training later this week that he will be completely up to speed with the gameplan by next weekend.”

Former SA Under-20 fullback Dillon Lleyds, who moved to Perth to join the Western Force earlier this year, is set to re-join WP on September 1 when his contract with the Australian side expires.

Coetzee also confirmed that Eben Etzebeth was running and taking contact and would be available for selection next weekend if the Springboks decide to allow him to play one game of Currie Cup before a return to international rugby.

Centre Damian de Allende will only return to full training next week after a knee injury, and is set to be available for selection in week two of the Currie Cup competition.

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