Make or break for Cronje as he outs for Southern Kings in 2017 season

After a winnowed tenure in the South African rugby landscape to date, Lionel Cronje, will be a keen starter and vice-captain at the fly-half berth for the Southern Kings against the SWD Eagles at the NMB Stadium on Saturday.

Cronje made his senior professional debut for the Stormers in 2010 after representing the South African Under-21 side in 2009, before being lured to the Cape by then-Stomers Director of Rugby, Rassie Erasmus.

He played seven games for the Stormers and 21 for Western Province between 2010 and 2011, before playing five matches for the Bulls in 2012 and 10 for the Golden Lions in 2013. In 2014 he took to Australia and played just three games for the Brumbies, before starting his tenure at the Sharks. He made 18 appearances for the Sharks’ Currie Cup side and seven for their Super Rugby side in 2015.

After an absence in 2016 and a tumultuous career with very little grounded stability, Cronje will now look to resurrect his rugby tenure with his appearance for the Kings in the 2017 season – starting in the Eagles showdown.

His career has also significantly succumbed to injuries, which has been a predominant setback for his seasonal progression. After being relatively apathetic last year and towards the end of 2015, following the circumstances, he now has the chance to get the ball rolling again in his plight to redemption when he makes his first rugby outing in almost a year and a half.

The 2017 season for the Eastern Cape side will prove to be a make or break opportunity for Cronje, as he aims to solidify his footprint in the rugby landscape.

Another keen observer, and outing for the Kings from the bench, is former Stormers stalwart, Louis Schreuder, who was involved in the Western Province Rugby Union for six years between 2010 and 2016 – playing 55 matches for Western Province and 66 for the Stormers.

The Kings then managed to lure Schreuder from the Kubota Spears in Japan – where he made eight appearances over South Africa’s 2016/17 summer.

Image: Lionel Cronje with Port Alfred school kids before their warm-up game against Border. Photo creds: Olga Williams- MyPe News