Davids aims to ‘give it a full crack’ for Stormers
THE Stormers have had some encouraging moments in their five United Rugby Championship matches thus far, but have lacked the finishing touches to their attack.
Now, with the return of Angelo Davids to their ranks, the Cape side may have found the missing link in their backline.
Blitzboks star Davids signed a new two-year contract with Western Province Professional Rugby yesterday, which means he will be available full-time for the Stormers and WP in the URC and Currie Cup.
The 22-year-old speedster played for John Dobson’s team in 2020, but returned to Sevens duty last year.
Davids will focus on the 15-man code in the immediate future, and his availability comes at just the right time for a Stormers side who have battled to get their attack operating at full throttle.
“After working with the players and the coaches here in 2020, I know that this is the right place to grow my abilities in the 15-man game,” he said yesterday.
“I am now fully fit and ready to give it a full crack. I look forward to contributing in any way possible for the Stormers and Western Province.”
Dobson added: “We know that Angelo has the kind of X-factor that we need out wide, we saw just what he is capable of in 2020. Angelo’s skill-set fits in perfectly with the type of rugby we want to play, so we can’t wait to see him in a Stormers jersey again.”
While the likes of Leolin Zas, Sergeal Petersen and Seabelo Senatla have featured for the Stormers, they lack the searing pace Davids possesses. The Springbok Sevens environment has also allowed him to develop his play-making skills, and he is deadly in a one-on-one situation out wide.
Of course, teams are much better organised in the URC than in Sevens rugby, as the Stormers found out in losing to Benetton and Munster after building up sizable leads.
They appeared to be on the right track after a draw with Edinburgh and then beating the Dragons in Wales, but their discipline let them down in a 37-19 loss to the Lions at Cape Town Stadium in their last URC game on December 4.
They will be back on the pitch on January 22 when they take on the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld, but before that, Davids will have a chance to settle in as the Currie Cup kicks off next weekend.
WP will host the Lions at Cape Town Stadium on either Friday, January 14 or Saturday, January 15, and then face the Bulls, at home as well, on Wednesday, January 19.
Springbok utility back Damian Willemse has also rejoined the Stormers following international duty last year, and it will be interesting to see how Dobson combines his talents with the likes of Davids and Warrick Gelant in the back-three.