He was praised by his coach for playing a big hand in Western Province’s turnaround in their Currie Cup campaign, but now Johnny Kotze is lost to the Cape.
The 23-year-old from Carletonville on the East Rand was up-and-down during Super Rugby for the Stormers, but has been a stand-out performer for Province in their bumpy journey to the Currie Cup semi-finals.
Often guilty of not passing the ball to a teammate in a better position, it was Kotze who set up WP’s opening try in last week’s must-win game against Boland at Newlands when he drew the defender inside his own 22 and put Cheslin Kolbe away in the gap.
Kolbe raced downfield before releasing Scott van Breda in the corner in one of the few highlights of an error-strewn display from the home side in a 30-28 win.
While Kotze doesn’t have the best passing game around, his big 1.85m, 89kg frame helps him to break the advantage line, while he also has a good step at close quarters. While he is behind Springboks Damian de Allende and Juan de Jongh, as well as Scottish midfielder Huw Jones in the midfield pecking order, Kotze would’ve been an invaluable squad member for next year’s Super Rugby competition.
The Stormers face a much tougher schedule in 2017 as they will face New Zealand opposition, and injuries are bound to strike as well. De Allende missed the first half of this season due to an ankle problem, while Jones and youngster Daniel du Plessis also missed out at different stages.
Currently, Du Plessis and EW Viljoen are not available due to injury, while Jaco Taute left for Munster in Ireland.
Kotze has been contracted until October 2018 by the Bulls, which must have swayed his decision as he will face a similar tough task to get into the starting line-up for Super Rugby.
Springboks Jan Serfontein and Jesse Kriel are sure to be the first-choice pair in Pretoria, while there is a long list of back-up centres in Burger Odendaal, Dries Swanepoel, Dan Kriel and Junior Springboks Franco Naudé and JT Jackson.
“We are really lucky to get an exciting and experienced player like Johnny Kotze into the squad, as it will no doubt extend our depth in the midfield. He brings some versatility and unpredictability to the party. That said, we predict a bright future for Franco and JT, who have already showed that they have an appetite for hard work and winning titles,” Bulls high performance manager Xander Janse van Rensburg said in a statement on Thursday.
“They work well together as a combination as well and they will learn a lot from the senior guys like Jan Serfontein, Burger Odendaal and Dries Swanepoel. In fact, they will keep everyone on their toes.”
The Bulls added that star youngsters RG Snyman and Jannes Kirsten have extended their contracts to 2018 and 2019 respectively, while tighthead prop Martin Dreyer will stay in Pretoria until the end of the 2017 Super Rugby season.
Junior players Naudé and Jackson, as well as Divan Rossouw and Jan-Henning Campher have all been promoted into the senior ranks.
@ashfakmohamed
Independent Media