‘Special’ Dyantyi the pride of Lions
• He will be a legend, says coach
Rugby is a team sport but each unit has one player that embodies the mental state of the team.
For the Lions, it is can-do winger Aphiwe Dyantyi.
During their 47-27 win over the Jaguares at Ellis Park on Saturday the hosts were trailing by 10 points after 19 minutes and were inexplicably profligate.
Dyantyi provided the catalyst for the fightback.
He became the major reactant in the second half as the Lions swiftly got on top.
Lions coach Swys de Bruin knows what he has in Dyantyi and wants to make sure he nurtures his talent to the fullest.
“He’s special and he had another good game‚” De Bruin said. “I have to encourage the absolute effort to try things when it’s not on. That’s what you want in a game.
“He gets very good ball from the forwards for starters because we need to be careful in terms of singling out one player. If we really look after him very well and make sure he earns his colours‚ he’ll become a legend.
“He’s got an honours degree‚ he’s a mature young man and he’s a clever guy. I’m very happy with him at the moment.”
However, Dyantyi’s efforts failed to conceal that the Lions are not up to their usual high standards. They are two games into the season and while doing a lot of things right‚ they are a work in progress.
Their scrum is fearsome and when their offloading game comes off‚ they pick out gaps no one can see.
However‚ there is still the worrying factor of Malcolm Marx’s wonky line-out radar and final passes that did not go to hand after scything line breaks.
De Bruin said these teething issues could be fixed but it was a case of “when”, because the Lions Super Rugby schedule was not going to get easier.
“A lot of the line-outs we do very quickly because we want to speed the game up and that’s where the mistakes creep in.
“This was our second game and I must say we had some fantastic line breaks.
“The one that led to Sylvian Mahuza’s try in the far corner was one to remember‚” De Bruin said.
“The first 20 minutes were so frustrating,” said the coach.
“We must look at the end result against an almost full-on international side. We’ll take it.”
DYANTYI’S SUPERHUMAN EFFORTS FAILED TO GLOSS OVER THE FACT THAT THE LIONS WERE NOT QUITE UP TO THEIR HIGH STANDARDS