RUGBY NEWS - The prospect of being in the running for silverware behind a powerful pack is what prompted Raymond Rhule to head for the DHL Stormers once it became clear the Cheetahs were no longer going to be part of Super Rugby.
Rhule played with many of the Stormers players when he was first choice wing for the Boks for much of last year, and he says that the prospect of having some of those big men playing in front of him and presenting him with ball to play with made his move to the Cape a no brainer once it was put on the table.
“I took on the attitude that if you want to be the best you must play with best,” said Rhule as he looked ahead towards his first outing at Newlands as a home player at franchise level this weekend. He is expected to be part of the Stormers team that will face the Jaguares in a crucial opening Super Rugby game before they head overseas the next day.
“I would like to be part of a team that wins Super Rugby, and I think the Stormers, with their pack, can do that. Of course, the Cheetahs were kicked out of Super Rugby so if I wanted to continue playing in the competition, I had to look for somewhere else to play. I looked at how dominant the Stormers pack can be. For a backline player it would be a dream come true to be playing behind a Stormers pack that is going forward.”
Rhule said he had been welcomed with open arms by his new teammates and hinted that the professionalism of the environment and attention to detail is what might differ from his previous team.
“The professionalism is very strong here. There is a lot more hard work and focus put on aspects like defence. There is a lot of attention to detail and a heck of a lot of hard work that goes into it,” said Rhule.
