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'Kitshoff has been dominated...he's certainly been exposed'
By Ian Cameron
Stephen Ferris has gone in hard on Steven Kitshoff’s performance at Ulster after an underwhelming six months with the Irish province.
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Ulster confirmed that the South African loosehead will depart at season’s end, two years shy of his contract’s conclusion, to rejoin URC rivals the Stormers.
Kitshoff – who joined Ulster following his second World Cup win with South Africa – made his debut against Glasgow Warriors shortly after, but has failed to make the impact many would expect from the Rugby World Cup winner.
Former Ireland and Ulster back row Ferris said despite fan hope’s that Kitshoff would significantly bolster Ulster’s scrum, the prop has been overpowered in matches.
“I’m sick of talking about the negatives of Ulster rugby, it seems to be never-ending,” Ferris told Balls.ie.
“There were rumours before that Ulster might try get him off the wage bill even though he’s only been in Northern Ireland not even the guts of six months, I believe.
“It’s a weird one because everybody was so excited to get this double World Cup-winning loosehead prop who’s going to bring so much to the table, Ulster were going to leap on and that hasn’t happened. If anything Steven Kitshoff has been dominated in the scrum.”
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The issues in the scrum, according to Ferris, are not solely Kitshoff’s responsibility, suggesting that the combination with teammates such as Rob Herring, Tom Stewart, and Tom O’Toole has also faced difficulties.
“I’m not saying it’s down to him, whether it’s Rob Herring or Tom Stewart scrumming down beside him as well as Tom O’Toole, they are getting under massive pressure and under the pump and he’s (Kitshoff) certainly been exposed as well.”
It is thought that Kitshoff’s exit is as much a money-saving exercise as a reflection on his performances. Ulster – who recently saw the exit of CEO Jonny Petrie and their head coach Dan McFarland – revealed losses of £900,000 for last season and are under pressure to tighten their belts.
The Belfast-based province now face the unenviable task of finding a high-level loosehead to replace Kitshoff, which is made all the more difficult by the fact that most top players have already been nailed by their clubs ahead of season 2024/25.
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Maybe it’s because he’s surrounded by terrible rugby players
I would not be paying too much attention to what Stephen Ferris has to say. He has form with these sorts of comments. Ulster look to be in a real mess right now. Kitsie is the first South African not to have been a big hit in Ulster. I think he has just been unlucky, walking into the mess. Probably for the best that he goes…. back to SA ?
Also Kitsie is used to scrummaging alongside Frans and others. He has performed well when he has played with them because they know each other well. I would say it's less Kitshoff and more the coaches needing to figure out where he is properly placed. And how he functions. Stormers know exactly who he plays well with and so when he returns it will be like speaking your home language. It will come naturally
To be fair, it must be really tough spending 5 months with an international side peaking for a short run of games, playing the best rugby of your career, and then being expected to perform at the same level immediately upon moving across and world to play for a mediocre club side.
The fear for south africa must be whether Kitshoff will be able to get back into form over the summer, or whether, at 32 years old, he’s now a fading force.
Presumably Nché and Steenekamp will be 1&17 for the bulk of the next four years, but things could get a bit dicey if Erasmus isn't able to keep relying on Kitshoff as a big-game player for the rest of 2024 at the least.