Kitshoff gets 'wake-up call' ahead of battle with Kolisi and Nyakane
SPOTLIGHT: Springbok star Steven Kitshoff admits that his move to Ulster has been far from plain sailing as he looks to step up his game ahead of a crunch Champions Cup tie against Racing 92.
The former Stormers captain has yet to taste victory with his new team after three outings.
It included defeats to Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh before a heavy 14-37 defeat to Bath in their Champions Cup opener.
“It was a bit of a wake-up call but I didn’t think I’d walk in and we’d just start winning – it doesn’t work like that, you have to put in the hard work,” Kitshoff told Irish media ahead of his team’s clash against Racing 92 in Belfast.
“It’s definitely a bit of a wake-up call and I need to make sure I get myself right before I expect to perform as I should.
“I haven’t been on par yet.
“Rugby is a weird game and you’ve got a nice seven-day turnaround before the opportunity to play again.
“For me, it’s making sure I’ve my ducks in a row, try and check all the boxes and try to put up a massive performance against Racing.”
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Bok battle
In the upcoming battle with Racing, Kitshoff is set to come up against some familiar faces in the form of Springbok captain Siya Kolisi and prop Trevor Nyakane.
They were all in the Bok squad that won the World Cup in France this year.
“I watched the Racing-Harlequins game in really big detail over the weekend – I spent my Sunday night watching the game,” said Kitshoff.
“Siya – watching that one game – he’s a massive attacking threat when he gets the ball in hand, quite dangerous.
“Defensively he’s solid, he’s a threat at the breakdown. I haven’t seen his line-out skills tested yet.
“Siya is an awesome player, Trevor [Nyakane] has been playing off the bench but I know he’ll be involved this weekend,” he added.
“They’re two massive South African ball carriers, brute-force players.
“If Siya has an on-day, we’ll have our hands full.
“I’d love Trevor to start for Racing. We have some great history, all the way back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, we came across each other.
“He’s been an awesome Springbok tighthead prop and an awesome Springbok loosehead prop as well. He’s been playing great rugby.
“It would be interesting to have a scrum battle against Trevor.”
Source: Belfast News Letter
