CAPE TOWN - Like any rugby player serious about the game, hooker Ramone Samuels might be eyeing a future Springbok spot, but for now the new recruit is set on establishing himself with the Stormers, and he’s taking it “game by game”.
Samuels was born in Somerset West and represented Western Province at Craven Week and Under-19 level, before packing up and heading to Johannesburg where he spent two years playing junior rugby with the Lions before making senior appearances in the Vodacom Cup and the Currie Cup Qualifiers, while he also made three Super Rugby appearances for the Highveld team.
And now he’s happy to be back in the Western Cape, where the Stormers got their Super Rugby season off to a solid start with wins over the Bulls and the Jaguares - two games that he featured in when he replaced Springbok hooker Bongi Mbonambi late in both games.
“It’s great being back. Starting a new culture and rebuilding the Stormers brand. I wouldn’t have imagined it any other way,” Samuels said.
“It was great to start off with the two wins, but we take the positives out of those games and take it game by game. Our squad are gelling and thriving off each other’s positivity and play and culture. So it’s really great being back here, I’m enjoying my rugby here.”
Samuels, who can also pack down on the outer edges of the scrum, said that his recent Super Rugby exposure with Robbie Fleck’s team didn’t stress him out too much, as he played against the Jaguares, the Kings and the Hurricanes last year with Johan Ackermann’s side.
“I was part of the Lions’ Super Rugby squad. So I’ve been exposed to that level. That was a big step-up for me because it was my first year as a professional hooker. I was a loose forward before at U21, U20 and U19 level,” he said.
Samuels also said that the positional switch from the loose trio to the front row was initiated by forwards coach Russell Winter, who advised the young forward to make the move towards the end of 2015 as the Lions were looking to expand their lineout resources.
“Coach Russell initiated the move back in 2015. He told me that I needed to look into that because openside flanker wasn’t an option for me anymore. They were moving in a direction where they wanted more lineout options.”
“Hooker wasn’t strange to me. I played there in high school at Paul Roos. I still play my rugby style and my loose forward role. I think the only difference was the set-pieces and my scrumming.”
And whatever scrum tricks the 22-year-old still has to learn, he is confident that he can pick up a lot of tips from Mbonambi.
“A guy like Bongi who’s ahead of me... I can learn a lot from him because he’s a Springbok. And ultimately that’s the dream, to be a Bok one day. But I know I have to play for my spot in this team and take it game by game,” Samuels said.
While with the Lions, Samuels was well down the pecking order behind powerful hooker Malcom Marx and Armand van der Merwe, while Robbie Coetzee was also in contention.
But Samuels said that the stiff competition and less-than-ideal amount of game time didn’t prompt him to make the move back home. “No that was not the thinking. I came here to work with Russell Winter again, he was my U21 coach at the Lions. And I felt that when I was in his set-up he brought out the best in me. Not that Akkers wasn’t bringing out the best in me. I think me and Russell just clicked.”
“And now coach Pieter de Villiers has been helping me with the set-piece facet. That’s also been helping me a lot.”
Meanwhile, the Stormers will be without outside back Cheslin Kolbe, centre Dan Kriel and flyhalf Jean-Luc du Plessis when they travel to Port Elizabeth for their Round Three fixture against the Kings on Saturday (3.05 pm kickoff).
Kolbe suffered an ankle injury in the Stormers’ 32-25 victory over the Jaguares at Newlands at the weekend, while Kriel suffered a knee sprain. Both backs will be rested for the week. Robert du Preez is set to move into the starting No 10 jersey against the Kings, as Du Plessis, who has a minor groin strain, will also be rested.