Badenhorst upbeat about new WP signings

Published Sep 18, 2004

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Western Province No 8 Adri Badenhorst says he will fight for his place in the starting line-up despite the arrival of new signing Luke Watson in Cape Town next season.

Badenhorst is no stranger to having to play second fiddle to star players, having lived in the shadow of former Bok and WP superstar Bob Skinstad until the end of 2002.

Skinstad, however, was frequently injured or on test duty, so there was plenty of game time for Badenhorst who played a key role in WP's back to back Currie Cup triumphs of 2000-01.

"Corné Krige left (for Northampton) and the side needed to replace him, which is why they went for another type of player who plays to the ball," Badenhorst said of Watson's signing.

"As for me? Well, I have another year left to run of my three-year contract and I am not too perturbed. With a team like Western Province the competition for places will always be high and if you just concentrate on your own game things will work out.

"When Bob (Skinstad) was here I learned that you have to stay positive whatever the circumstances. If you are not in the side you just have to play harder to prove you deserve to be there," he said.

WP coach Carel du Plessis said this week that Badenhorst and injured flank Hendrik Gerber would remain valuable members of the team and that both were key members of the WP squad.

For Springbok hooker Hanyani Shimange, though, the move to Cape Town from Bloemfontein in the new year will represent a homecoming.

In 1996 Shimange played with Lions centre Gcobani Bobo and fullback Oginga Siwundla and erstwhile WP flyhalf Gareth Wright in the last Rondebosch High school 1st XV to do the double over Bishops.

"I never lost to Bishops in high school," Shimange said proudly of his formative rugby years as a boarder at Rondebosch in which time he was selected for the WP B schools side and a WP Academy team.

"Province play a similar game to Free State and I am looking forward to coming back to Cape Town as that is where I put on my first provincial jersey, the striped jersey of WP. Province have offered me a better contract, but before that even became an issue I wanted to return to the Cape," said Shimange.

"That is where I started my rugby career and it is where I would like to finish it. We used to go to Newlands almost every Saturday to support Province in the days when we dreamed of one day becoming pro rugby players and Springboks.

"From standard five our heroes were players like Laurent Cabannes, Tiaan Strauss and Andrew Aitken, Chester Williams and Thinus Linee. And Joel Stransky used to sometimes train us at Rondebosch, so WP rugby is in my blood," said Shimange.

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