Bloemfontein – Springbok reject Sarel Pretorius will continue his Super Rugby career in Australia.
The 27-year-old Cheetahs scrumhalf was on Wednesday again snubbed by the Boks after the national selectors did not include him as one of four scrumhalves in an enlarged squad.
Pretorius will now play for the Waratahs in 2012 and 2013 and this opens the door to a potential Test career with the Wallabies. The Waratahs are expected to make an official announcement about Pretorius’s move on Friday.
He is contracted with Griquas until the end of this year’s Currie Cup and may return to play for Free State in the same tournament in 2012 and 2013.
The Waratahs have contracted Pretorius as a replacement for Luke Burgess, who will join French club side Toulouse later this year.
Pretorius’s statistics this year – the number of times he was ale to beat the defensive line (13, six behind the best in the Super Rugby tournament), the number of times he off-loaded in contact (26, fourth) and try assists (seven, fourth) – must have made it an easy call for Waratahs coach Chris Hickey.
Something Hickey will want to pay attention to is the 49 tackles that Pretorius missed this year. It’s the most in the Super Rugby tournament.
The Waratahs were able to contract Pretorius as a senior overseas player after New Zealander Sosene Anesi decided to continue his career in Japan.
Anesi was also released during his time at the Waratahs to represent Waikato in the Kiwis’ NPC-series.
The Waratahs had apparently also sounded out Welsh scrumhalves Mike Phillips and Dwayne Peel, as well as Kiwi star Andy Ellis.
Pretorius’s nine tries places him at the top of the list of leading try-scorers alongside Bjorn Basson in the Super Rugby tournament.
He made his Super Rugby debut against the Western Force in 2009 and represented the Cheetahs in nine games in his debut season.
In the same year he played for the Royal XV in a match against the British and Irish Lions after being a member of the Emerging Boks team in 2008.
Pretorius’s decision is a huge setback for the Cheetahs, who have had their best season to date in Super Rugby.
The Cheetahs do not have great depth at scrumhalf and coach Naka Drotské hopes that young players such as Piet van Zyl and Pieter Rademan will step up in the Currie Cup.
Van Zyl has been injured for a long time this year and should be the experienced Tewis de Bruyn’s understudy for the Currie Cup. Tertius Carse is the other scrumhalf in Free State’s Currie Cup squad.
Rademan has just returned from Italy where he represented the South African under-20 side in the Junior World Championship.
I would like to mention that I feel this is a travesty! Pretorius should definitely been in the Springbok training group, and I think maybe the last straw was when McCleod was included after Ricky January backed out and he was not!
This guy is awesome and I am convinced we will see him playing in an Aussie friggen short in the future!!!!
It is sickening!!!
trips @ 1
well i must say that i was quite surprised that sarel wasnt selected after rickie had withdrawn from the squad.
now, i’m on record as stating (midway through the season) that i’m worried about his defence, and i ended the season not convinced about that department of him
but
that said,
i do believe that he, despite that despite that “so-called weakness” (what do i know? 😉 ) might still have offered a heck of a lot to the boks attack!! he may have just been the one to finally get that backline firing. unfortunately, or should i say, as things stand at the moment, we might never know!!
..
now, on him deciding to sign with the tahs … WHAT A BLOODY IDIOT!! what happens if the next coach come along (which WILL happen, no matter the result at the wc) and tell him that he (the coach) see him (sarel) as his starting scrumhalf? what’s he gonna do then? go through a lot of messy legal issues to get out of his contract with the tahs? jeez, who gave this youngster this advice? why, o why, o why, o why not wait a few more months to assess things? jeez!! 😯
To hell with Snor and his man love for Ricky, The Seemonster should have been in the squad!
McLoud is a flukken rumour.
#2
hmmm, seems like I MIGHT TURN OUT TO BE THE BLOODY IDIOT here after all … it seems like, from reports on sites like news24 etc, that sarel might have a clause in his contract allowing him to play in the curriecup (not sure where he will be accomodated yet, but i cant see him struggling to find a place somewhere)
now
this will mean that
he will still be playing against the best aus, nz and sa have to offer
AND
he’ll be part of the curriecup (thus can be compared against the best in sa in a very tough competition)
..
hmmmmm, i havent commented out of pure emotion in a very loooooooooong time
and i
will not do so again soon!!
..
😳 jeez!! and i called HIM an idiot!! 😥
loosehead @ 3
ontspan!! 😀
read #4!! 😆
#4
ok, to make #4 a bit clearer
..
he’ll be playing SUPERRUGBY and CURRIECUP, so he’ll still be available for selection for the boks from next year onward,
without being hampered by the policy of not selecting “overseas players” as he’s playing in both mentioned competitions!
….
dont know whether he’s got aus ancestors though (which would make him available for selection for aus immediatly) … can someone perhaps clear that one up for us?
o, and my sincerest apologies to the guy or guys who gave sarel advice on this move … 😳 yes, i know, i know, I’M the idiot!! 😀
@ Ashley:
Don’t tell me what to do! 😆
loosehead @ 8
cheers bru
chat again tomorrow 😀
at least is hy nie guppies toe nie
Ashley @ 6….I’m fairly sure his antecedents were not convicts.
4man @ 11
😀 be nice!!
@ Ashley:
Ashley @ 12…..why, its just Aussies… 😉
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