Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
JD Schickerling’s candle burns bright once again
Malherbe ready for massive battle – albeit from bench
“I WENT through a number of emotions over the past two weeks, which haven’t been easy. Frustration, disappointment, sadness, fear, anger, but most of all, I’m thankful that everything seems to be fine.
“The injury was very serious, but the doctors have managed to help me. They asked if I wanted to play rugby again, and I said ‘yes’, so I went through a second operation to insert another plate in the back of my neck.”
These were the words of a 19-yearold lock JD Schickerling in an interview with myplayers.co.za after suffering a broken neck in a provincial Under-21 match for Western Province against the Blue Bulls in 2014.
There must have been some concern he would never play rugby again. Would his talent have just shone a bright but brief light for the WP U21s and the Baby Boks? But, almost two years later, Schickerling is set to make his official debut for the Stormers in today’s Super Rugby opener against the Bulls at Newlands. The candle is burning again.
The now 20-year-old should come off the bench as back-up for the blockbuster second-row pairing of Eben Etzebeth and Pieter-Steph du Toit. Schickerling has also been entrusted with calling the lineouts if Du Toit is off the field. No wonder Stormers cocaptain Frans Malherbe says the kid has got something between the ears.
“He has been calling the lineout since the pre-season started, he and Pieter-Steph. He is taking charge of that, and I don’t doubt his ability and I have full confidence that he will do a good job,” Malherbe said. “He has an awesome rugby brain on him.”
While Schickerling is an intelligent rugby player, his greatest attribute is his athleticism, and he’s also a big boy who doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty in the loose. So he is able to cover both the four and five lock positions.
“He is athletic, he is big. He has a massive future ahead of him,” Malherbe added. “He is a good all-rounder. We will see how he goes in this competition. He is an awesome guy, humble, and I can’t wait to be on the field with him.”
But before he makes his way on the field, Schickerling will have one of the best seats in the house to watch the massive front-row scrum battle today.
Last year, the Stormers had the edge over their fierce rivals, and their scrum was the basis for their two wins over the Bulls in 2015. But the Bulls are rocking up at Newlands with an all-Springbok front row that is looking to exact revenge for the beatings they have suffered in the last 12 months.
Malherbe, though, will not get stuck in from the start, as coach Robbie Fleck looks to play him off the bench after the tighthead prop only recently recovered from an ankle niggle.
“It’s going to be a massive battle. A Springbok front row, you can’t take anything away from that,” Malherbe said. “But that’s the challenge, I don’t think it’s going to get any easier.”