Good news for Bob, bad news for Rassie

Bobby Skinstad makes his long-awaited return to rugby next week, but not with the Stormers.

Skinstad and fellow Stormers forward Pieter Dixon will instead turn out for Sammy Paulse's Western Province team.

Each man will get at least 20 minutes of game time in a Vodacom Shield match against the Northern Free State Griffons. The match is to be played at Florida Park, Ravensmead, on Friday, April 26.

Skinstad last played when he led the Springboks in Britain. He missed out on the team's last tour match, a Test against the American Eagles in Houston. On his return to South Africa, Skinstad had a shoulder operation which has kept him out of rugby for most of the Super 12 season.

He said on Wednesday he was looking forward to getting back onto the park in the hope of playing in the Stormers' last two Super 12 league matches.

Dixon broke his right arm during the Stormers' first Super 12 match of the season, against the Sharks in Durban. His absence has been sorely missed by the team, especially at the lineouts.

Tjoepie van den Heever, the Eastern Province hooker called on by Stormers coach Gert Smal to fill Dixon's role, has been robust in broken play, solid in the scrums, but erratic at the lineouts.

Skinstad and Dixon will be brought on towards the end of Province's match against the Griffons, according to coach Paulse, who is obviously grateful for the level of experience the two men can bring to his struggling team.

"People don't often realise that the Vodacom Cup is not a learning curve - you do need experience," said Paulse, who has battled all season with enthusiastic young players who were notably lacking in experience.

The WP team failed to reach the play-offs of the cup.

The fitness of Skinstad and Dixon, along with the other Stormers casualties, has been carefully monitored by Springbok team physiotherapist Wayne Diesel. The players have also been following a strict rehabilitation programme. Nevertheless, nothing can be a substitute for game time.

Whether Stormers coach Smal will be persuaded to bring back Skinstad for the team's two final Super 12 league matches is still uncertain. Much will depend on how the Stormers perform in their final two matches in New Zealand.

On Saturday the Stormers play the Chiefs in Hamilton and a week later they move to Auckland to take on the Blues. Victories in both matches - admittedly an unlikely scenario - could persuade Smal to retain the bulk of his team, making it harder for Skinstad to break back.

If the Stormers return to Cape Town with their Super 12 play-off chances finally buried, the coach might well be persuaded to bring back Skinstad, even though current No 8 Adri Badenhorst has been performing well again in the absence of the Springbok captain.

Dixon is another matter. Hooker has been something of a problem for Smal and although Van den Heever has proved a reasonable stop-gap measure, it is a position that could do with improvement.

Dixon said on Wednesday that his rehabilitation had come along much faster than originally expected. He has been working hard at lineout throwing and Smal even considered flying him across to New Zealand on Thursday, but shelved that plan in the interests of ensuring some game time for the hooker.

But Dixon is not the only candidate for a Stormers hooking berth; another is regular WP Vodacom Cup hooker, Schalk Brits. The Matie has been one of the standouts in the struggling team this season. Smal could have the luxury of choice when he picks his team for the matches against the Cats and the Bulls.

The Stormers play the Cats at Ellis Park on May 4 and end off the Super 12 with their final home match on May 11 against the battling Bulls.

While Skinstad's chances of playing at least some Super 12 rugby have improved, those of another Springbok loose forward deteriorated.

Rassie Erasmus will definitely miss the rest of the tournament, having been finally ruled out by the Cats.

Erasmus has been advised to allow an injured foot to recuperate before even thinking about returning to the playing field. The Cats doctor Jon Patricios, who examined Erasmus after he pulled out of last week's Free State match against Border, said the player might have to sit out another four weeks.