The Cats centre with the good handling skills is a breath of fresh air in South African rugby
Andy Capostagno
The finest Springbok centre of them all probably didn’t see it, but just down the road from the hospital where Danie Gerber is recovering from heart surgery, Gcobani Bobo went to the front of the queue to play in the number 13 shirt when the international season begins in June.
Bobo’s hat-trick of tries won the match for the Cats against the Bulls at Loftus and when “die Doring van Despatch” is released he can get back on the road to recovery by watching a tape that will make him purr.
When I last saw Gerber, at Fancourt in December, he was bemoaning the fact that South African backs were lacking in the skills that in his day were considered basic. He said one of the drills he uses in training at the Pumas is to carry the ball at three defenders and get them to stop him. “Sounds painful,” I said. “Nobody’s stopped me yet,” he replied, “and they fall for the oldest tricks in the book.”
At Loftus Bobo went through a few tricks of his own. His opening try was a classic; with a two-man overlap he took two steps towards the corner flag, cut inside to beat the first line of defence, then ran away from the cover defence to score. If he had been caught the critics would have howled, but he backed himself. Gerber would have loved that.
The second was an old-fashioned chip and chase, but it came from broken play and a wonderful surge by Willie Meyer, and it was done hard up against the touchline. The third was from the charge down of a fatally delayed kick. He sauntered over the line, turned round and sat on the ball before acknowledging the applause.
It was another example of an independent spirit expressing himself. A few unreconstructed South African rugby watchers would have put a black mark against the best black rugby player in the country for such effrontery. But Gerber would have loved that, too.
Much has been made of the gap in standards between the two Super 12 matches played in this country in the opening round and those played in Australia and New Zealand.
But as has been mentioned before, it’s easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a forward to pass to a back in games between South African Super 12 franchises. In the circumstances there was much to commend both the Cats/Bulls and Sharks/Stormers matches. They were exciting, skilful in parts and mercifully short of the axe murdering aspects of last year’s encounters.
It would be wrong to assume that everything in the garden is rosy, but before we consider the dazzling rugby played by the Blues, Crusaders, Highlanders and Brumbies let us remember that, to misquote Naas Botha, the Super 12 is not won in February.
Nevertheless, if either the Cats or the Sharks emerge from this week’s matches with a bonus point they will have done well. For the Cats take on the defending champions in Canberra, a venue where they have never won and, in 2000 lost 64-0.
Last year at Ellis Park they lost 17-16 when Rod Kafer slotted a drop goal in the dying minutes. Kafer has gone to play his rugby in England, but Pat Howard, the man he replaced, is back and the Brumbies look as lethal as ever.
The Sharks travel to the House of Pain in Dunedin to take on the Highlanders. They have never won there in this competition, but have picked up a bonus point for finishing within seven points of the home team every time.
Sharks coach Rudolf Straeuli could be forgiven for having his mind on other things, however, given that SA Rugby is due to announce the name of the new Springbok coach this weekend. Straeuli is up against Rudy Joubert, with Allister Coetzee and Jake White having been eliminated from the original shortlist of four.
It would surprise no one if the announcement were put on hold, but it would be a very pleasant surprise if the selection panel were to look at the merits of the two candidates and decide that Springbok rugby would be poorer in the absence of either one. Logically Straeuli should be head coach with Joubert as technical director.
February
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