Stormers flyer Dylan Maart is looking to emulate Kurt-Lee Arendse’s path to the green and gold. MORNÉ ESBEN reports.
Maart’s Stormers journey may have begun as a loan deal from Currie Cup champions Griquas, but the electric winger is quickly making himself difficult to ignore.
He scored a try on his Stormers debut against Munster in Limerick and backed it up with a brace against La Rochelle in the Investec Champions Cup last Saturday.
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Now, with his first appearance at Cape Town Stadium looming, the Wellington-born speedster admits the past few weeks “have been very nice”.
“Making my debut, playing overseas for the first time and obviously the results have been going our way,” Maart told the media ahead of Saturday’s derby against the Lions. “I’m very excited to play my first game at the DHL Stadium in front of the home crowd – exciting times.”
For a player who was plying his trade in the domestic game not long ago, the shift has been dramatic and deeply personal.
“If I think of where I was a year ago to where I am now, I never thought I’d have the opportunity to play here at the Stormers, so I’m very grateful and very excited.”
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While Maart is carving out his own identity in the Stormers back three, he’s also clear about the players who shaped his ambitions, and the one he continues to look up to closest to home.
“For me growing up, it was Bryan Habana,” he said. “Cheslin [Kolbe] now, as well as one of my friends, Kurt-Lee Arendse. He lives in Paarl, I’m from Wellington so he’s a guy I look up to and can always ask if I need some advice.”
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Photo: Cole Cruickshank/Gallo Images
The post Maart inspired by good friend Arendse appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.