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Stormers set to lure Bok hooker back from France
By Kim Ekin
South African United Rugby Championship side the DHL Stormers look set to lure a Springbok hooker back from France.
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They lost the services of Bongi Mbonambi last year after the Test veteran swapped Cape Town for Durban and the Sharks.
They’re also now without fellow Springboks Scarra Ntubeni, who has injured himself in a recent URC game against Glasgow Warriors is set to miss the rest of the season. Added to their disaster zone at hooker are Andre-Hugo Venter and Chad Solomon, both of whom are already long-term injury absentees.
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Yet there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel in the form of Joseph Dweba. Dweba has spent the current season with Bordeaux Begles in France, having signed to the Top 14 side from the Cheetahs.
According to Netwerk 24, Dweba is in advanced talks with John Dobson’s Stormers and is likely to call Cape Town home next season.
The powerful athlete has one cap for the Springboks, but is highly rated and tipped for big things.
Elsewhere Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber expressed his satisfaction with the progress made within his two most recent alignment camps. The coaching team hosted their first alignment camp in Durban in April before heading north to meet with a few overseas-based players, and they wrapped up this stage of their preparation with a five-day camp today.
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Stormers back row Evans Roos, who had been omitted from the first camp, was reportedly in attendance.
“We are satisfied with the alignment camps, and we believe these sessions will be beneficial to ensure a smooth return to the training field before the three Tests against Wales,” said Nienaber.
“While the first alignment in Durban touched on the team’s programme this season and in the lead up to the World Cup in France, as well as a broad overview of what worked last season and what we can improve on, we zoomed into more detail at this camp focusing on the key areas for the team going forward as we turn our attention to the international season and further ahead to the Rugby World Cup.”
With the alignment camp box being ticked, Nienaber said the next step for the coaches would be to select a squad within the next few weeks for their training camp in Pretoria from Monday, 6 June, where the squad will remain until the conclusion of their first Test against Wales at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, 2 July.
