Stepping Up
Text: Schalk Jonker, Denver Keytle and Angus Powers. Article April 2012 issue of Sports Illustrated Magazine.
With big futures and big shoes to fill at their different franchises, five South African players need to step up and take charge in Super Rugby this year.
As the 2012 Super Rugby season unfolds, certain players at each South African franchise will be called upon to take their game beyond previous expectations. They will be required to go from sturdy foot-soldiers to indispensable key players for their teams, asked to deliver consistently outstanding performances week in, week out against some of the best players in the world, in the toughest provincial rugby tournament there is.
None of these players will find this challenge easy. All five will take strain. Some are burdened by a rookie’s inexperience and uncertainty.
Others will feel the pressure of replacing talismanic senior players, or of repaying a union’s huge investment in them. These are five players with talent to burn and skills to die for. They’ve been handed the opportunity of a lifetime. Now it’s up to them to show South Africa what they’ve got.
The Stepper
Johann Sadie
Team: Bulls
Position: Outside centre
Age: 23
Height: 1.86m
Weight: 93kg
Where he’s been
You read all the right words when you glance over the young Sadie’s profile. Paarl Gymnasium, South Africa U20, Maties, Western Province, Stormers. The kid is full of rugby and one of the most exciting prospects to hit the South African rugby scene in recent years. After coming through the ranks, representing both Western Province and South Africa at age-group level, he made an immediate impact at wing, centre and from the bench.
Where he is now
His highly publicised move to Pretoria has left Stormers fans shaking their heads and Bulls fans licking their lips in anticipation. The young game-breaker doesn’t necessarily have huge shoes to fill, but there is definitely a lot of hype surrounding him and tons of expectation to see if he can get the Bulls mid- field to fire.
“I knew when I joined the Bulls that I was joining a union that has won the Super Rugby title three times and that I was going to be part of the top province in the country,” he says. “There are always expectations when you play for the Bulls and that was never going to change. I also knew that I was going to be first-choice outside centre and that the coach, my teammates and the fans were going to look to me to make things happen in midfield. So I wouldn’t say I’m surprised or overwhelmed by the expectations. I knew they would be there and I know it is now up to me to produce the goods.”
Sadie is an exciting player who loves to move off the ball and exploit his ability to run excellent lines. Not exactly a classic Bulls centre in the mould of JP Nel and Frikkie Welsh. They were players who craved making contact, going in for the crash ball and trying to smash opponents out of the way before setting up the next phase.
Although Sadie is not such a player, his Maties coach Chean Roux believes he still has a lot to offer the Bulls. “Johann has all the talent in the world,” says Chean Roux, who coached Sadie when he played for the University of Stellenbosch. “He has the rare ability to see a gap and attack that space and that makes him a very dangerous player. It’s also great that Pieter Rossouw is involved with the team because I can’t think of anyone who can develop his talent better. The way Pieter approaches the game will fit perfectly with the way Johann plays the game. If they can get it working, it will be very dangerous.”
Where he’s going
He’s being touted as a future Springbok, with Heyneke Meyer going on record – before he was appointed as national coach – to say that Sadie needs to play for the Boks sooner rather than later. Or something to that effect. But before talk of Springbok selection becomes a reality, Sadie wants to repay the faith the Bulls have put in him.
“You know, we are a new team that’s almost starting from scratch and I have the opportunity to grow with this team and help build them into something great all over again. You don’t know what the future holds. I would definitely want to stay here for the next few years. I enjoy the culture and playing with these guys and we’re busy laying the foundations of a long-term plan, so I think I’ll be here for some time.”
There is no doubting his talent, but there are concerns that Sadie is the kind of player who could let his shoulders drop a bit when things don’t go his way. At a team steeped in a tradition of always fighting back against the odds, there will be no room for that. However, the youngster seems keen to become part of the culture and that can only stand him – and the Bulls – in good stead.
The Strongman
Trevor Nyakane
Team: Cheetahs
Position: Prop
Age: 22
Height: 1.78m
Weight: 114kg
Where he’s been
The rugby bug first sank its teeth into Nyakane when he was a schoolboy of about nine, growing up in Tzaneen. Pretty soon his abundance of talent was clear for all to see. The strong prop caught the eye of the Limpopo Blue Bulls’ selectors and represented the union at the Craven Week in 2006 and 2007. He made the SA Schools Academy in his matric year, after which the Free State Rugby Union offered him an U19 contract. It was a rapid rise and in the three years from 2008 to 2011 he played age-group rugby in Bloem and some Vodacom Cup games, as well as representing CUT in the Varsity Shield competition. Nyakane was also sent to the Griffons as a loan player before being called up for Currie Cup duty by the Cheetahs.
Where he is now
It’s fair to say Bloemfontein is a bit of a prop factory, with some of the country’s most celebrated exponents of front-row play having their roots in the City of Roses. Nyakane fits right into that mould. “He made a huge difference to us when he trained with and played for us,” says Oersond Gorgonzola, the man who looked after Nyakane when he was on loan to the Griffons. “You could see he had a lot of rugby in him and it was evident that he came through the systems at the Cheetahs. He is an incredibly gifted rugby player. He’s a strong scrummager who can pack down on both sides and his work rate impressed me. He’s also very dangerous with ball in hand and he’s a strong defender. The thing about him is that he’ll look for work and you can’t say that about a lot of props.”
Coenie Oosthuizen’s injury meant that Nyakane got his Super Rugby opportunity even sooner than he anticipated. But he is in the expert hands of Springbok legend Os du Randt and he is looking to make every second count. “It was always my goal to play Super Rugby for the Cheetahs and I sort of expected it from myself, but I didn’t expect it to happen quite so early. Fortunately, I got my chance and I just have make the most of it, because once a guy like Coenie comes back there will be some changes and I have to make sure I’m still in the mix,” he says.
His ability to play tighthead as well will no doubt count in his favour looking towards the future, as WP Nel recently announced that he will take up a contract in Ireland at the end of the season. “Look, I prefer loosehead because I love running around. I don’t have a problem to move to tighthead and with WP leaving after the season, that spot will be open. Last year they moved Coenie to tighthead, so we’ll see what the coach’s plans are. But I just want to keep myself at a level where they don’t need to look further than me.”
Where he’s going
Nyakane wants to cement his place in the Cheetahs’ starting line-up and under the guidance he is currently getting, he doesn’t see why it can’t become a reality. “Working with Os du Randt is a very good thing,” he says. “He has a lot of experience: he won two World Cups and he knows what he is talking about. He is one of those coaches who doesn’t just tell you how to do something, he actually shows you how he wants you to do it. Since I have been working under him, there has been a lot of improvement. I want to become better in each and every aspect of my game. That’s the challenge for me.”
Another challenge for Nyakane will be to keep getting regular game time once Oosthuizen returns from injury. Quality black props are rare gems, but he will have to be at his absolute best to get picked ahead of the two established front men. His versatility is no doubt a huge bonus, but it is vital that he doesn’t get disheartened if he soon finds himself on the bench. Things will only get better for him.
The Bruiser
Callie Visagie
Team: Lions
Position: Hooker
Age: 23
Height: 1.89m
Weight: 103kg
Where he’s been
Another product of rugby in the Western Cape, Visagie became somewhat of a stalwart for Province in their age-group teams, and was part of the union’s victorious U19 team in 2007. He also played a leading role in the U21 teams that made it to their age-group semifinals in 2008 and2009. This led to him being offered a senior Western Province contract in 2010, but being third in line behind Tiaan Liebenberg and Deon Fourie, Visagie was mainly holding tackle bags at practice while his studies (doing B. Accounting Honours through UNISA) suffered.
It was Maties coach Chean Roux who convinced Visagie to forget about playing for Western Province for one year, return to he University of Stellenbosch and finish his studies. The player did that last year and things worked out nicely for Roux, who had Visagie’s services for his Varsity Cup campaign. “Callie only played four or five games for us, but he still did enough to be named player of the tournament,” says Roux. ‘And remember, it wasn’t a great year for Maties and for him to achieve that while the team struggled says a lot about his character.”
Where he is now
Visagie finished his studies and was ready to focus on his rugby again, so when the call from Lions coach John Mitchell came, he weighed up his options and decided a move to Johannesburg was the best thing he could do. “I committed to the Lions before they won the Currie Cup, so it was nice to see the team where I’m heading doing well. I talked to Mitch and liked what he said, so in the end it was an easy decision for me,” he says.
Visagie wasn’t given any guarantees of game time and he knew from the start that he would have to slug it out with Bandise Maku for the starting berth. “I wasn’t promised anything. The coach said I would get the opportunity to prove myself and that it would be up to me to make the best of it. He just explained his plans and the kind of rugby he wanted the team to play, and I was sold on the idea.”
With Maku out injured, Visagie got his opportunity early in the Super Rugby season. Being one of the two preferred hookers, he has every opportunity to establish himself as a Lions regular.
Roux has no doubt that he has what it takes. “The mere fact that he qualified as a chartered accountant shows that he is intelligent and disciplined and you can clearly see it in the way he plays rugby. It will take some time getting used to Super Rugby. Not everyone can just step up and be at home at that level. But Callie has all the qualities you want in a Super Rugby hooker. His throw-ins and work in the scrums are exceptional. He’s mobile. He’s a typical modern hooker. He has all the makings of a great player, but he will have to rein in his aggression a bit.”
Where he’s going
“I definitely see a long-term future for myself at the Lions, otherwise I would never have moved,” explains Visagie. “We have a youngish and exciting team with one of the best coaches in the world. We have created an unbelievable culture where there is no room for egos, where everyone is friends and we’re a great unit. I relish the opportunity to grow with the team.”
There will be growing pains initially and Visagie will have to back himself not to let these get the better of him. The pressure got to his line-out throws in his first two games of the 2012 season and he will have to sort that out soon to make the best of the opportunity the lions have afforded him.
If he gets his throwing in at the line-out on par, Roux believes it won’t be long before Visagie establishes himself as a member of the Lions’ leadership corps. “They have a brilliant player in Callie. He’ll step up in a leadership role, not only because of what he offers as a leader, but he will earn respect with the way he plays.
The Livewire
Siya Kolisi
Team: Stormers
Position: Flank
Age: 20:
Height: 1.87m
Weight: 101kg
Where he’s been
Rewind to mid-2009, during Cape Schools Week. WP were overly precious about their Craven Week players and didn’t allow any to participate in the tournament. Their Eastern Province counterparts weren’t as overprotective and allowed some of their stars to participate – among them was Siyamthanda Kolisi. In his No 7 Grey PE jersey, Kolisi dominated the tournament with his brand of hard-running, hard-hitting rugby. At this point Kolisi had already been offered a three-year contract by the Cheetahs, but there were a few twists in his tale yet.
Where he is now
Thanks in no small part to a change in agents, Kolisi found his way to WP by way of Grant Khomo Week (EP U16), Craven Week (EP U18), the SA Schools team, and SA U18 High Performance and SA U20 squads. At this point he had already played for the Mighty Elephants U19, WP U19 and WP U21 teams. Today, he has all but cemented his spot in the Stormers Super Rugby squad. By anyone’s reckoning, quite an impressive resume for someone who is still only 20 years old.
More in the mould of strong, ball-carrying flankers like Schalk Burger and Juan Smith rather than out-and-out fetchers like the Brussows and Pococks of the world, Kolisi invariably gains the upper hand in collisions, and breaks the advantage line in attack. On defence, he’s solid. His dominance at the point of contact and his bone-jarring tackles are handy weapons when belligerent opponents need to be softened up and put on the back foot. What’s more, his frame affords him the opportunity to put away the occasional off-load, and he also provides an extra line-out option.
In his Super Rugby debut – against the Hurricanes in the Stormers’ 2012 season opener – he finally got the chance to strut his stuff off the bench when Schalk Burger was injured. Huge boots to fill, but Kolisi passed with flying colours, scoring a try, and very nearly bagging a second from the back of a rolling maul.
Where he’s going
“It’s still very early days, and it’s unfair to sing too many praises about a player so early in the season,” says Dawie Theron, SA U20 coach. “He’s only had limited time at Super Ruby level, but he will grab that opportunity. We must just give him a chance and see how he grows throughout the competition.”
It must be said, however, for the type of game Kolisi employs – that of the powerful, in-your-face battering ram – he’s perhaps just not there yet, physically, especially when compared to bruisers like Willem Alberts (120kg). His inexperience also means he’s not immune to the occasional meltdown, as BMT ultimately grows with game time, but with every outing, the signs of rapid maturation are there. “In all fairness, he didn’t have a good day with us in the game against England in the [Junior] World Cup last year, but a lot of good players can have an off day,” says Theron. ‘Apart from that game, he has always impressed me.”
What impresses Theron most about Kolisi is his physical ability, and his conditioning, particularly when taking his age into account. While Kolisi is a special player, he’s but one of a new crop of loosies who could eventually push for Bok honours. Consider the likes of CJ Stander, Marcell Coetzee, Arno Botha and Nizaam Carr, and the future of SA rugby looks very bright.
But what counts in Kolisi’s favour is his humility, passion, and hunger for the game. In a chance encounter with him during the tail-end of the Stormers’ 2012 pre-season, the young flanker expressed his commitment to the WP cause with astounding fervour. While he was excited about the prospect of returning to the Eastern Cape and playing in front of his ‘home’ crowd in the Stormers’ pre-season fixture against the Southern Kings, he reiterated that the only team he’s ever wanted to play for is Western Province. Comforting news to the Newlands fans, that’s for sure.
The Boot:
Riaan Viljoen
Team: Sharks
Position: Fullback
Age: 28
Height: 1.85m
Weight: 97kg
Where he’s been
“Anybody who says no to the Sharks is not right in his mind,” laughs Riaan Viljoen. Considering his new life in Durban – the house on the redeveloped Durban High School Old Boys fields (where the All Blacks used to practise before Durban Tests); the healthy five-month-old baby boy; and the wife ecstatic to be back at the coast – the big fullback’s not wrong.
A decade ago, he said yes to the Sharks for the first time, when they poached him at Craven Week and offered him an U19 jersey instead of club rugby in his home dorp of Oos Driefontein, outside Carletonville on the West Rand. That Natal gig lasted until 2003, then Viljoen landed up – via Lions Sevens and a three-year stint at the Falcons – at Griquas for four solid years. He arrived as a quiet but talented lad, and left as Griquas vice-captain, with three years of Cheetahs Super Rugby under his belt, and a match against the British and Irish Lions and two mid-week Bok caps on his CV.
Where he is now
The Cheetahs and Griquas mostly gave Viljoen the licence to play his own game, but at the Sharks he has already been submitted to closer scrutiny. The off-season was spent slogging through a gym programme designed to shore up his weaknesses, and assistant coach Grant Bashford put in hours working on his field positioning and tackle technique. At close to 100kg and with a penchant for joining the line, Viljoen is a potent attacking weapon. He’s deceptively quick too; only winger Lwazi Mvovo out-guns him when the backs do sprint training.
The Sharks might be a new team, but there are some familiar faces. Viljoen (aka “Tjoppie”) rooms with Steven Sykes, a mate from Sharks age-group sides, and Meyer Bosman and Charl McLeod go back to Cheetahs and Lions days respectively. Some things, however – like profile and pressure – have changed for good. ‘At the Griquas, you’ve got your loyal fans at home games, and your biggest fans are your family,” Viljoen admits. “But at the Sharks it’s great to have so many supporters at away matches. The pressure is on, but the way you handle it is what counts.”
Where he’s going
“Riaan Viljoen can do anything at any moment. You must let him read the game as he sees it,” advises Griquas coach Abre Minnie. “That’s what makes him such a dangerous player, and what opposition coaches find difficult to analyse.”
Consider Viljoen’s big match temperament (in the 2009 Vodacom Cup, he scored 20 of Griquas’ 36 points in their semifinal win over the Sharks, and all 28 points in their victory over the Bulls in the final), and his ability to goal drop- and place kicks from beyond his own 10m line, and the thinking behind the Sharks’ big-money signing becomes clear.
Of course, there’s still plenty of scope to find even greater consistency with the boot. Long-range shots at goal are great, if they go over; otherwise it’s a waste of field position. Precision kicking out of hand is also something that’s been in short supply at the Sharks recently. If he gets it right, Viljoen’s name will be on the Sharks No 15 jersey for the rest of his two-year contract (although don’t be surprised to see him stand in at flyhalf and wing, too).
Like any ambitious player, Viljoen’s got half an eye on higher honours in the green and gold, but for now, the sight of their new fullback stroking over kicks from the halfway line during pre-match warm-ups will gladden the hearts of the King’s Park faithful. As will his admirably old-school approach to his art. “I don’t know about pointing the ball this way or that on the kicking tee. I just put it up, take my steps at a 45° angle backwards, and try to kick through the line of the ball,” he says. “Naas Botha always said, ‘Keep it simple’, and that’s my philosophy for everything I do. Keep it simple.”
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