Well the Stormers are in a bad way judging by the performance (lack thereof) of their U23 side. It might be the coaching, of course, but it's sad to see the state of one of the traditional rugby powerhouses of the country. I don't think the actual Stormers side has been that bad, but they have gone through a poor spell losing to the woeful Sharks twice and some other hiccups. Dobbo's persistence with players like Gelant is not a good thing and hard to understand.
The Bulls have picked up some decent youngsters and some experienced fellows too - as you say, nothing that blows the old socks off, but let's see how they develop. We'll have to see how good Kermit Bosch is once he's back, still got a good few years in him so let's hope he has something to offer.
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It seems that the SA teams are struggling to find proper squad depth. I look at the outgoing players and can't help but cringe when I see these players leave in their prime to go and cash in. On the other hand, I see some has beens come back at 30+ or those that do come back are either been discarded by their French clubs. Of these players were Kwotalisi, Gelant, to name a few. I don't see any real heavy weights coming back. The only notable name is Thomas Du Toit as he wants to push for SA honours in the World Cup year, but it might be a little too late.
I looked at the bools. They are losing Kriel, Arendse, Nortje etc are all leaving. These were the heartbeat of the Bools. Their old players like Serfontein has hung his boots at 33 after coming back at age 31 and grounded down during his stint in French rugby and had no impact on the team.
Why is left is a smattering of currie cup players like Xamalesh, and Saffex favourite but has bee I the wilderness. Dylan Maart going to bulls and few youngsters such Guilleme. But nothing jumps out to me as players to watch.
SA franchises like the Sharks are falling for 18 year olds and now rebuilding, these players our going to end up being another Curwin Bosh, great indifidual games but when it counts, they'll come undone and then cast aside. Those that do succeed will be jetting off.
I can't say the Stormers players have been on fire. Sasha has been hot and cold, Gelant has been awful. Willemse tries hard but can't find a spot to settle in nor has the brain power. The player that helped the Stormers were players like Mathee in the early stages that helped them get wins on the road but now just playing a backup role. Sasha is flashy but have the Stormers actually won with Gelant, Willemse and Sasha?
So how deep is the talent pool then. Maybe last 16 is as high as SA teams can go