Stormers send SOS to Bloemfontein to alleviate hooker crisis and spare Deon Fourie a switch | Sport

Wilmar Arnoldi. (Photo by Frikkie Kapp/Gallo Images)

• The Stormers have roped in the Cheetahs’ Wilmar Arnoldi to alleviate their injury crisis at hooker.
• The 27-year-old previously starred for Maties in their 2018 Varsity Cup-winning campaign and is labelled as a solid set-piece exponent.
• Arnoldi’s call-up also means that the Stormers can concentrate on keeping the irrepressible Deon Fourie at flank.

Reluctant to ask the experienced Deon Fourie to replicate his outstanding form at openside temporarily at hooker, the Stormers have instead sent an SOS to Bloemfontein to alleviate their injury crisis in the No 2 jersey.

Wilmar Arnoldi has heeded the call and is likely to be immediately thrust into action in Saturday’s blockbuster United Rugby Championship meeting with Leinster at the Cape Town Stadium.

The 27-year-old isn’t exactly an unfamiliar figure within Western Province rugby circles, having starred in Maties’ 2018 Varsity Cup-winning campaign before earning a move to the Cheetahs.

Sport24 also understands that Arnoldi’s appearance on the Stormers’ radar isn’t out-of-the-blue as head coach John Dobson has previously expressed admiration of the man who hails from Ermelo.

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“We’re loaning Wilmar at the moment,” assistant coach Dawie Snyman said on Monday.

“Scarra Ntubeni’s injury is looking quite serious, but we’re hoping to have two guys in Andre-Hugo Venter and Chad Solomon back from next week. 

“We obviously also had JJ Kotze, who came through [last weekend’s] game unscathed.”

A compact, powerful 1.81m and 105kg exponent, Arnoldi is by no means a slouch when it comes to being a link in an attacking pattern, but his solid fundamentals will probably be more valued against the Irish heavyweights.

“We want to play a certain way. A lot of people noticed the space we created to play in, but that space has to come from somewhere, so Wilmar’s main priority is to get the set-piece right,” said Snyman.

“Otherwise, it’s just been about helping him gain a better understanding of how we play. Wilmar’s quite a tough player, he’s good on the ground and steals the ball. He’s also a good defender and has got a great throw at the line-outs.”

More pertinently, the “risk” of employing an “outsider” like Arnoldi at hooker is – probably justifiably – outweighed by keeping Fourie settled at No 6.

“His versatility is great, but he’s playing at loose forward for us now,” said Snyman.

“I didn’t really see him train at hooker. That’s why we’ve called in Wilmar, so that we’re not forced to have Deon covering both positions.”

Saturday’s clash kicks-off at 18:30.