Outeniqua boys reunite to tackle Boks
SPOTLIGHT: Peaches and Herb once sang “reunited, and it feels so good”, and that is the case for Warrick Gelant, who potentially could play alongside Duhan van der Merwe for the first time since their high school years for the visiting Barbarians.
The Barbarians will face the Springboks on June 20 in Gqeberha and boast high-profile names such as Gelant, Van der Merwe, Alex Nankivell, TJ Perenara and coaches Scott Robertson and Felipe Contepomi.
*Also read: Boks call up Stormers hardman
The Stormers and Springbok fullback addressed the media following the Barbarians’ training session in Cape Town on Monday.
He expressed his excitement to potentially form part of a back three with his former Outeniqua High School teammate Van der Merwe for the BaaBaas.
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“It’s special. It’s every player’s dream to play in a Barbarian team with guys you often play against or just see on TV.
“There’s mates like Virimi Vakatawa that I made whilst playing at Racing 92 and played against him [for the BlitzBoks] against France.
“Duhan [van der Merwe] and I played in school together [for Outeniqua High], and now we find ourselves in the same team over 10 years later – it’s amazing and very special.”
Gelant explained how sharing a field with Van der Merwe in their professional careers seemed like a pipe dream until now.
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“We went to the Bulls at the same time, and I thought we might get a chance to play together there, but we never got it,” said Gelant.
“For obvious reasons, he’s in Scotland and playing for their national team, and we thought that dream [of ever playing together again] was down the drain.
“And then last night [Sunday] we got together and realised we’re back together [in the same team], so it’s special.”
The playmaker added that despite being a Cape Town local, he won’t be the one leading the team on the nights out.
“I must give it to Duhan, he’s more Scottish than me but knows Cape Town better than me,” Gelant joked.
Speaking on the game against the Boks, Gelant rubbished any claims that the team will approach it with a free-for-all mentality.
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“It’s not necessarily about going out and just doing what we want on the pitch without taking responsibility.
“The Boks are the world champions, and there’s almost no weakness in their team, which makes things very difficult but which is also very exciting.
“We can potentially give our best pictures we put together to test them, just as they’ll test us, and we’ll have to step up within our roles and responsibilities.
“That makes it special. It’s about going out and seeing how we match up against them as a [new] group coming together and balancing the hard graft and flashy work – that will be the challenge.”
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