Stormers lock JD Schickerling is relishing the chance to face former teammate Eben Etzebeth when the Sharks travel to Cape Town this weekend.
Before heading to Japan and France respectively, Schickerling and Etzebeth would pack down for the Cape side in a blockbuster second-row.
The current Stormers man describes the most capped Springbok as a “great mentor” during that period and would love to face up to him for the first time. That is not guaranteed, however, with the Sharks enforcer missing in recent weeks as his body recovers from a gruelling season.
Facing a Springbok is the yardstick
Schickerling insists that facing current Springboks is the ultimate yardstick for a player to see where they are as he looks to work his way to the green and gold.
“If the Sharks do select him, it will be an awesome experience for me playing against him. I’ve played with him, and he was a great mentor for me at the Stormers,” the lock said.
“It’s always good when you get the opportunity to play against Springboks, to measure yourself as a player.”
Since returning to Cape Town at the beginning of the season, Schickerling has been a revelation for the Stormers with his extremely high work-rate and powerful carries some of the hallmarks of his game.
The lock was at his best last time out against the Lions, winning man of the match in the process.
“I’m really happy with my performance, especially because we got the win,” he said. “Obviously, I couldn’t have done it without the guys around me. They really worked hard, and that inspired me to work harder.”
Fixing the set-piece
The game saw Joseph Dweba bag a double thanks to two maul tries that came on the back of some hard work in that sector.
“That was something we are definitely working on, to be accurate on both sides of the ball, defence and attack,” he said. “The maul is always a difficult thing to get right, it’s never perfect, so when it does come together it’s really nice.
“It takes the whole pack to make it work, and we keep learning and trying to get better over the weekend.”
It was a relief for the Stormers to get back to winning ways but the second-row still believes there is plenty to work on.
“We go into every match wanting to win, so getting that win over the Lions, and at home, gives us confidence going into the next game,” Schickerling added.
“Obviously it’s never perfect and there are things we can improve on, but we’re excited and looking forward to our next match.”
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Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/great-mentor-eben-etzebeth-hailed-as-stormers-star-relishing-prospect-of-coastal-derby-duel
