Suleiman Hartzenberg aims for glory in 50th Stormers cap during pivotal URC showdown

The milestones keep rolling in for the Stormers with speedster Suleiman Hartzenberg set for his 50th cap for the Cape side on Friday against Cardiff in their final round-robin match of the United Rugby Championship (URC) season.

Following in the footsteps of Damian Willemse, who celebrated his 100th appearance this past Saturday, the 21-year-old Hartzenberg raced to the milestone of half a century of games despite picking up various injuries over the last couple of seasons.

It shows how valuable the utility back, who is comfortable at outside centre or on the wing, is to the inaugural URC winners. Halfway to the 100 mark, he could, in the future, reach the milestone in a record time, with Willemse currently having that honour at the age of 27.

For the youngster, the focus will be on giving his best for the side until the end of the season and not to worry about reaching various milestones.

“It’s been a phenomenal season, and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it,” Hartzenberg said, ahead of Friday’s clash. “Coming back from injury has been amazing as well and everything fell into place for me.

"It’s good to be back on the field with the guys. There have been things I had to improve on like my fitness and on defence when I returned.

“You feel there are always things to improve on the field. Things like poaching balls at the breakdown (after a tackle), and understanding the D (defence) better, from both perspectives, if I am playing at centre or wing.

"Being assisted by players around me has helped me a lot since my debut. There hasn’t been one negative moment where no one was willing to help.”

Hartzenberg has scored four tries in his 10 matches this season with the latest coming this past weekend against the Dragons shortly after he entered the fray off the bench.

Director of rugby John Dobson said last week that Hartzenberg will start against Cardiff. It will provide the lethal finisher with another opportunity to add to his try-scoring tally and to stake a claim for a spot in the team for the knockouts.

It should also allow him to produce a performance that will make the Springbok coaches take further notice of him. Although his focus won’t be on that, the 21-year-old has been part of the national conversation for a while and attended the first alignment camp of head coach Rassie Erasmus ahead of the 2025 Test season.

“Those alignment camps are completely different (from what the players are used to at the franchise level). You understand how the Springboks work in their system. You want more from it. They give you enough to want more and to pursue that dream of becoming a Springbok one day.”

While he has played at outside centre and wing for the Stormers this season, Hartzenberg sees himself settling in the midfield. But, as a youngster, he is keen to play wherever the team needs him to. Being a versatile back will only aid his growth and development, he feels.

On the Cardiff challenge in his 50th game, he said they are a big attacking threat, and they can’t get too comfortable.

“There is still a lot to play for (on Friday). They are playing to stay in the playoffs, and we are (playing) to hopefully stay in South Africa (for the quarters).

"We don’t want to get complacent, but we must continue to give our best. Our preparation this week stayed the same as it was in previous weeks.”