SPEED MERCHANT
Sevens star Senatla brings exhilarating pace to Province
SEABELO SENATLA got off the plane from Scotland yesterday with a golden glow after he played a starring role for the Sevens Springboks to claim the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games.
Now Western Province coach Allister Coetzee is hoping that the Welkom-born speedster can bring the same glow to WP’s attacking play when they kick off their Currie Cup campaign against the Eastern Province Kings in Port Elizabeth next Saturday.
Senatla scored two sensational tries in the Sevens final on Sunday night to break New Zealand’s stranglehold in the sport at the Commonwealth Games. His electrifying pace, ability to see space and break tackles make him a dangerous customer in the shortened version of the game.
But Coetzee, who said he is going to give Senatla a few days off this week before drafting him into the Province squad, believes that Senatla can also be a star for WP, and backed him to thrive in their attack-minded gameplan in the Currie Cup.
“He has come on for us during a few games at 14 (in SuperRugby), and that could be a position he could fill with Gio Aplon not there anymore,” Coetzee said yesterday after a training session at the Langa Stadium.
“His pace is a massive factor for us in terms of what we want to achieve with the ball-inhand style. He is a great finisher, we have all seen that he just needs the smallest amount of space to finish.
“I won’t bother him tonight, but he will definitely join us later this week. As soon as he lands here I will have a nice cup of tea with him,” Coetzee joked.
Another player who put a smile on Coetzee’s face yesterday was forward Eben Etzebeth, who trained with his teammates in front of a few hundred school kids. However, the Province coach doesn’t know if the powerhouse lock will be available for the union, as Etsebeth could be called up to play for the Springboks in the upcoming Rugby Championship.
Etzebeth hasn’t played since November last year when he injured his ankle against France. He was supposed to return for the Stormers against the Bulls at the start of the month, but, in a freak accident, he bumped his toe against a shower door and was sidelined with a swollen foot.
Coetzee wants Etzebeth, as well as utility back Damien de Allende and Springbok captain Jean de Villiers, to get a few games under their belts for WP before they take on the likes of the All Blacks.
“I would love to use them for one or two weeks. We worked hard to get them to full fitness. I’m not sure yet if they will be involved with the Boks squad, so we will know by next week who we will have available,” Coetzee said.
“If I put my Province cap on I would say that is the best thing for them (to play a few matches for us). It’s all up the Bok coach, and he might reason the sooner they are part of the (Springbok) structures the better.
“But on the other hand, he might think it will be better to give them some gametime, before they are exposed to the intensity of Test rugby.”
It does seem that Coetzee’s long injury list is getting shorter, with the likes of Brok Harris, Frans Malherbe, Scarra Ntubeni, Oliver Kebble, Rynhardt Elstadt and Jurie van Vuuren all set to return to rugby before the end of August.
Flyhalf Kurt Coleman and centre Juan de Jongh also sat out training yesterday, but Coetzee says they will be ready to take on the Kings.
WP FIXTURES August 8: EP Kings (Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, 7.10pm), August 16: Blue Bulls (Newlands, 2pm), August 23: Golden Lions (Newlands, 5.05pm), August 30: Blue Bulls (Loftus Versfeld, 5.05pm), September 5: Eastern Province (Newlands, 7.10pm), September 13: Golden Lions (Ellis Park, 5.05pm), September 20: Griquas (Newlands, 3pm), September 27: Pumas (Mbombela Stadium, tba), October 4: Free State Cheetahs (Free Stats Stadium, 2pm), October 11: Sharks (Newlands, 5.0pm).