Bob Skinstad is back. Or maybe it's a bit premature to make that bold statement just yet. The Stormers No 8, however, put in a solid 80-minute performance against the Boland Kavaliers on Friday and stated his intentions of making a big impact in the Cape franchise's Super 12 campaign.

Skinstad showed little of the flair and silky running skills that made him such a hit in the international arena in 1998. What would delight his supporters (and the man himself), though, is that he got stuck in against a very physical Boland outfit and gave as good as he got.

The vision is still there and in the second half he played the role of linkman with much more authority than in the first. The Stormers captain on the night didn't shy away from contact and that his knee injury is now consigned to the history books, was clear for all to see.

He has a lot of work to do to get his speed back to what it was before, but the vision and eye for a gap is still there. Skinstad showed some
ring-rustiness, especially evident when some of his passes didn't find the receiver, but in the second stanza he showed glimpses of the old magic.

Now things are looking decidedly up for the most-talked about player in South Africa. Skinstad and coach Alan Solomons expressed their satisfaction after the hard-fought 45-19 win at Boland Stadium.

"I was happy", said Solomons, "Bob needs game time. That's what he really needs. He hasn't played rugby for 14 months and he needs to get out onto the field. The Sevens have been good for him and this has helped him too.

"He had 30 minutes of our game against SWD and he had a full game tonight. I think that will do him a lot of good."

Skinstad wasn't entirely happy, but added he enjoyed the second-half performance. "I'm judging it on where the game is in the season. Like Solly said, I need to get on the park and I've been trying to push the medical team to give me as much time as possible. It's 50-50 though, because you don't want to push it too early and hurt yourself.

"But I'm very chuffed that I came through the 80 minutes without pain or anything and I think - like Solly said about the basics - I was happy with some and unhappy with some."

He described his own performance as patchy. "You know when you come back fitness rules. If you had four or five runs you sort of dip off again, or four or five tackles for that matter. It was patchy. There were some good things and some bad things," the 24-year old said.

"Obviously there is a helluva lot of work to be done, especially as far as my understanding with the other players is concerned. That's the thing you miss the most, that interaction, knowing exactly when an oke is going to pass, why he's going to pass, where he's going to be.

"That's why I'm lucky to have played with this team for a long time before and I think it's going to take a little while before I can be as confident with the ball as I have been in the past."

Kavaliers coach Rudy Joubert was impressed: "I think for a first really hard game in the 15-man code he did really well and if he carries on like this he will be back to his old form pretty soon and he will be exciting again."

Skinstad will continue his comeback trial when the Stormers conclude their pre-season preparation with a Valentine's Day date with Western Province at Newlands on Wednesday night.