Jean de Villiers has hailed the impact of outgoing captain Steven Kitshoff in helping turn the DHL Stormers into Vodacom United Rugby Championship title challengers.
Kitshoff is set to make his final appearance for the Stormers in the Vodacom URC final in front of a sold out Cape Town Stadium before taking a move to Ulster next season.
The grand final, where the Stormers will look to defend their URC title against Munster, will see Kitshoff bring the curtain down, for now at least, on his 12-year Stormers career.
The giant loosehead made his Stormers debut in 2011 as a teenager and has appeared in more than 100 first-class matches.
Speaking during a Vodacom URC roundtable discussion with the media, former Stormers captain De Villiers saluted Kitshoff’s growth into an excellent leader.
“I was fortunate to be there when Steven started playing for the Stormers,” said De Villiers. “He was this 18-year-old and he had to get permission from his parents to play Super Rugby at such a young age, with him scrumming and from a safety point of view.
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“In those first couple of seasons, Kitsie probably spoke five words a week in the team environment and that was usually post-game after he had a couple of beers. He was just so quiet, didn’t say much, but he always had a big smile and always produced on the field. He was a youngster and extremely shy.
“He is still a man of not too many words, but he has developed into a world-class player and a leader that leads from the front. He has the ability to get the team to play towards a common goal and push in the same direction.
“He has been fantastic for the Stormers and Springboks and his leadership has grown significantly over the last five years. The results that the Stormers have had over the last two years especially speaks volumes of that.”
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