Cape Town — Centre Cornel Smit and hooker Andre-Hugo Venter have added to the Stormers’ promising young stocks by signing contract extensions with the United Rugby Championship winners.
Both Smit and Venter featured for John Dobson’s side during their URC-winning campaign, with the latter also playing a role in the Grand Final at Cape Town Stadium after coming off the bench.
The duo are the latest youngsters to commit to Western Province Rugby, with seven Junior Springboks, including captain Sacha Mngomezulu, having signed contract extensions recently.
Stormers head coach John Dobson said he is looking forward to seeing further growth from Venter and Smit.
“Cornel is a smart player who is poised to take his career to the next level, so we are glad that he will be here where he has played all of his rugby,” he said.
“Andre-Hugo is an immensely exciting prospect who has a very bright future ahead of him. We are thrilled to keep both of these players in our system and expect big things of both of them,” he said.
Smit said that he is excited to extend his journey with the Stormers.
“As a local boy I always dreamed of playing for the Stormers and it is great to have the backing of the coaches going forward,” he said.
Venter, who scored a crucial try in the URC final against the Bulls, said that he wants to keep on adding to the Cape side.
“I could not be happier with where I am with my rugby at the moment. I was really backed after coming back from injury this season and I want to contribute as much as I can to the team in the seasons ahead,” he said.
IOL Sport