RUGBY: Barney Spender
HE IS 24 years old, shaves his head twice a week,=20 dreams of being Pamela Anderson and has only played in=20 four tests but already All Black flanker Josh Kronfeld=20 is getting the kind of notices which would make the=20 best of Broadway producers look up in envy.
This weekend, as the heavy artillery draws its lines at=20 Ellis Park on Saturday, comes his biggest test yet when=20 he comes up against the Springboks after he and his=20 fellow All Black forwards had conquered Dean Richards,=20 Tim Rodber and Ben Clarke in the England back row.
So far, though, it has been a fine tournament for=20 Kronfeld whose pace around the field and high workrate=20 have marked him off as a star not just of the future=20 but of the present as well.
Mind you, if South Africans always notice Francois=20 Pienaar’s efforts around the field on account of his=20 blonde hair, the same could be said for Kronfeld and=20 the black scrum cap which covers his shaven head.
“People think I copied the French, but I have always=20 had short hair,” he laughs.
“As for the headgear, I was getting constant knocks and=20 the spasms in my neck were affecting my eyesight. So I=20 thought it might soften the blows.
“It didn’t help me much, to be honest, but it became=20 part of my gear just like the mouthguard, so I kept=20
And what, you may be asking, about Pamela Anderson?=20 Kronfeld laughs: “Yeah, well I was asked to name three=20 people in the world I would like to be. So I came up=20 with Michael Barrymore, the British comedian, he’s=20 hilarious, Jimmy Page — I suppose you know who he is – – but I couldn’t think of a third. So I asked my=20 workmates and they came up with Pamela Anderson. Why=20 not, she’s got it all?”
Hardly Josh. She may have the body and the money but=20 she doesn’t have the constant smell of deep heat up her=20 nostrils or the chance to grapple with the sweaty likes=20 of Rodber and Richards every weekend … hm, maybe he’s=20 got a point.
His early performances in the World Cup against Ireland=20 and Wales were outstanding, capped by a try in each.=20 And although the Scots gave him less room to roam he=20 still did enough to maintain his growing reputation.
Former Ireland and British Lions flanker Fergus=20 Slattery wowed over his performances in New Zealand’s=20 opening two games, describing him as the best openside=20 flanker in the competition.
England coach Jack Rowell describes him as one of the=20 discoveries of the tournament, New Zealand manager=20 Colin Meads says he has a big future and former=20 Springbok backrow flyer Rob Louw marks him off as a=20 “very special player”.
Despite the attention being poured on his teammate=20 Jonah Lomu, Kronfeld might be forgiven for getting a=20 little blase with all the compliments. It seems,=20 however, he is anything but.
“To be honest, I haven’t had a lot to do with the media=20 over here and I haven’t been reading the newspapers so=20 it hasn’t really affected me at all,” he says modestly.
“Things have gone really well though. I’ve managed to=20 get involved and play as I wanted to although I have=20 made some mistakes which I hope I can improve on.
“I get the odd lapses in concentration. Test rugby is=20 another level up from provincial stuff, even the Super=20 10s, and you can’t get away with those wee lapses of=20 concentration at Test level.”
No matter. The facts speak for themselves. Kronfeld=20 began making his reputation when he first appeared in=20 the Otago line-up in 1993.
Overseas exposure came in the shape of the Super 10 and=20 when Otago became the only provincial side to beat=20 South Africa in New Zealand last year, then Springbok=20 coach Ian McIntosh put him down as a major influence on=20 the game.
The refusal of Michael Jones to play on Sundays pushed=20 the All Black selectors into looking for someone to=20 fill the great man’s boots. And Kronfeld was chosen to=20 make his Test debut against Canada.
An immediate success, the rugby gods had smiled on the=20 All Blacks once again.
But what is it about him that has attracted the rave=20
Meads, a great All Black forward of another era,=20 compares him with “Red” Conway and John Graham, saying=20 that it is his anticipation which marks him out from=20 the crowd.
“There are so many myths in rugby about where a player=20 should be, the lines he should run in and so on. But=20 really, it’s a matter of being the one who is nearest=20 the ball and Josh is always pretty close.
“But he’s very dedicated and very committed as well and=20 obviously a player with a big future.”
Rowell admires his speed: “He’s a sharp mover and=20 thinker — straight out of the All Black mould.=20 Certainly one of the discoveries of the tournament.”
Louw, meanwhile, likens Kronfeld to Slattery and Tony=20 Neary: “He doesn’t play a tight game at all. He’s=20 always in support not usually at the bottom of the=20 heap. He’s a loose loosie, a scavenger — and every=20 team needs a scavenger.”
One noticeable element of his play has been the two=20 tries he has picked up from Lomu, a testament to his=20 pace and anticipation.
“I have been lucky with those,” says Kronfeld. “It’s=20 just a part of my job to be there. Jonah’s a strong=20 runner and has been unlucky not to have made it across=20 the line and I have been on hand to pick up the=20
It is a relationship between wing and flanker which=20 brings envious smiles from former Wales and British=20 Lions wing Gerald Davies.
“We just used to shake hands with the flankers in the=20 changing room and that was about as close as we got,”=20 he laughs.
“The question to ask, though,” adds Davies, “is whether=20 the All Blacks have missed Michael Jones. And it=20 doesn’t look like it so far, does it? There is one=20 great All Black forward dropping out and here’s another=20 who just slots straight into place. That says=20
Louw believes he has the potential to become as good as=20 Slattery although he wants to reserve final judgment=20 until after Kronfeld has played another country from=20 the “Big Five” — a chance he will have on Saturday.
He has, though, picked up on one element where=20 Kronfeld’s game could be improved.
“One place he is lacking is his pressure on the=20 backline; he’s not getting up on the flyhalf and=20 centres and then tackling or worrying them into=20 mistakes,” he says, adding, “but in his support play=20 and with the ball in the hand he is excellent.”
It is a criticism Kronfeld is prepared for: “That’s one=20 area of the game where I haven’t done enough,” he=20 admits, “but, to be fair, I haven’t really been called=20 on to do it yet.”
It all appears to add up to a bright future in the game=20 if Kronfeld decides to stay with rugby union. And=20 that’s a big “if” as his style of play marks him out as=20 a big catch for the rugby league scouts who will be=20 watching his price rise with every match. No doubt a=20 World Cup winner’s medal will up it even more.