‘Eskom’ van Staden wants Stormers in dark

ASK ANYONE outside of Loftus Versfeld about Marco van Staden and chances are great that they will be in the dark about him.

But the livewire loose forward is fast making a name for himself around the capital, and after this weekend when the Bulls play the Stormers in Cape Town, Van Staden (pictured) could well be known by everyone in South African rugby.

Van Staden has been one of the finds of the season for the Bulls and has justified his place in the starting team by putting in some big performances in the past three weeks.

And Saturday will be another opportunity for Van Staden to measure himself against one of the best in the country in Siya Kolisi and continue to grow his name across the country.

“It is nice to measure yourself against the best and the number one six flank in South Africa, he (Kolisi) is also the Springbok flank. It is nice to... know where you stand,” said Van Staden who is known as “Eskom” to his teammates for tackling the lights out of his opposition during his Varsity Cup days.

Even though the Bulls lost their last outing against the Highlanders at home, Van Staden says they will not change anything in the way they play because it has worked for them for the better part of the season. “I don’t think I will change anything, I will just stick to the structures that coach has put in place. And we must keep on doing what we have been doing because it seems to be working,” Van Staden said.

The 22-year-old Van Staden has come from virtually nowhere to force himself into the Bulls Super Rugby team and through sheer hard work, the former Hoërskool Bekker (in Magaliesburg) pupil could easily be one of those thunderbolt names in a future Springbok team if he continues to produce the goods.

Van Staden admits that his meteoric rise has come as a surprise, but having played no representative rugby throughout his school days and at junior level, Van Staden says all he has relied on has been hard work.

After being rejected by the Pukke Rugby Institute, Van Staden joined the Tuks Rugby Academy four years ago and managed to catch the eye of now Bulls Super Rugby forwards coach Pote Human, who has coached him at every level in the capital.

“Ja I have definitely been surprised. Everything started for me in the Currie Cup when I got my gap there and coach Mitch (John Mitchell) gave me a chance. I just listened to him and progressed and improved myself to make the standards that he wants,” added Van Staden.

“It has always been my dream to play for the Springboks. I didn’t play at any representative level at school so I knew I had to work very hard to get to the top. I think it is good because it taught me to work hard from the beginning.”