Stormers bring in five new signings to add depth, but need to hold on to senior men too

AFTER the hullabaloo about the company’s liquidation over the festive period, the Stormers announced that they have signed five players for the new Super Rugby season.

Former Lions Ramone Samuels (hooker) and Stefan de Wit (flank), Pieter-Steph du Toit’s younger brother Johan (loose forward), and Bulls duo SP Marais (fullback) and Dan Kriel (centre and twin brother of Jesse) have joined the Cape outfit, and have been hard at work in pre-season.

But what will be of greater importance to the Stormers and coach Robbie Fleck will be to secure the short-term futures of a number of top performers.

Springboks Eben Etzebeth, Nizaam Carr, Siya Kolisi and others such as Cheslin Kolbe, Scarra Ntubeni, Rynhardt Elstadt and Oli Kebble have all been rumoured to be looking elsewhere after the Super Rugby season, and losing all of them in one go would be a mortal blow to the team’s chances of becoming serious title contenders.

WP Rugby chief executive Paul Zacks, though, appeared to suggest in a statement yes- terday that at least some of them would remain in the Cape. “These players (new signings) will all provide important depth in a squad that has been bolstered by a number of key contract extensions amongst the current playing group,” Zacks said.

A Stormers spokesman said that an announcement on the contract extensions would be made soon.

Samuels actually hails from WP and was a star loose forward for Paul Roos and the Craven Week team in 2011 and 2012, but moved to the Lions in 2014, where he played mainly as a hooker.

The 22- year- old earned three Super Rugby caps last season, although he was well down the pecking order behind Malcolm Marx, Akker van der Merwe and Robbie Coetzee.

WP director of rugby Gert Smal is hopeful that De Wit can solve the Stormers’ openside problems.

“In Stefan de Wit, we have a genuine openside flank who plays towards the ball, which should bring some balance to our loose forwards,” he said.

“Johan du Toit is a powerful player with a good rugby brain who can cover more than one position in the back row. Ramone Samuels is a hooker who has shown great potential, and I am looking forward to seeing him grow in our set-up.

“In SP Marais we have an experienced head at the back, while Dan Kriel is an exciting player who has great versatility.”

The Stormers, who have been at their pre-season camp in Hermanus, will play three warm-up games ahead of their Super Rugby opener against the Bulls at Newlands on February 25.

Their first game of the year is against the Cheetahs in Harare, Zimbabwe, on January 28, after which they travel to George to face South Western Districts (February 4).

They finish off their preparations against 2016 finalists the Lions at Newlands on February 11.