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Gelant is coming of age

The 22-year-old speedster scored two tries for South Africa 'A' in helping his team overcome the French Barbarians 48-28 at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto at the end of June.

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Gelant has seen his stock continue to rise after a hat-trick of tries during the Bulls 30-17 Super Rugby Round 15 victory over the Sharks in Durban last week.Gelant is coming of age

Bulls coach Nollis Marais will be banking on Gelant crossing the whitewash again when the flyer runs out in the No.15 jersey against the Southern Kings in an all-South African derby at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday.

Marais explained how, with time and experience, Gelant came through the ranks as a complete player – after learning how to vary his game.

"When he started [in the] Currie Cup, people didn't know him," Marais said.

"When he got space he was devastating. Then, in the 2015 Currie Cup semi-final against Western Province, they closed him down on space [in a game won 23-18 by WP].

"He needed to get a balance of when to run the ball and when to kick the ball.

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"That's something you can only learn with time.

"Warrick is still [just] 22, so he will get better and better.

"However, he needed to go through a lot of things to understand when to kick and when to run the ball.

"It's not about running every time. He got found out in the Currie Cup and now he has a good mixture of when to do what. He will just go [get better] from that," Marais added.

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The Bulls coach said that Gelant has put his hand up for Springbok selection with his performances for both the Bulls and South Africa 'A' over the past couple of weeks.

"We had a discussion in the week and if he gets picked for the side [Springboks]I know he won't drop them [let them down].

"He is really somebody for the future. If he is available for us in the Currie Cup, we will play him, but his got a great future ahead of him," Marais added.

Marais said Gelant must continue playing his natural attacking game and selection for the Springboks will follow.

"I think a guy like Warrick must just stick to what his doing now at the moment," explained Marais.

By Josh Isaacson

@isaacson_j

@tugby365com

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