Bolt vows ‘never again’ after emotional London farewell

CURWIN BOSCH has shown that he’s got it.

The X-factor, talent, skill – whatever it is that makes a player worthy of wearing the Springbok jersey – he’s got it.

So it will be interesting to see if Springbok coach Allister Coetzee makes use of him during their Rugby Championship opener against Argentina at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.

During the team’s first week in PE in preparation for the opening Test, Coetzee showed belief in the 20-year-old, and the Springbok mentor said that the Boks might need Bosch’s boot in an important match. Coetzee also added: “Curwin has really done well. He’s a talented guy, whether he’s ready now or not, he’s very talented and I think he will definitely play for South Africa in the future.”

It’s good to see that he’s getting the recognition he deserves from the Bok coach (how can he not?).

But hopefully the “future” is soon… as soon as the Boks’ first Rugby Championship Test because, let’s face it, it’s only going to get tougher from here on in. So there’s no better time than now to let the prodigy get a taste of the big stage. Bosch has been nothing short of outstanding for the Sharks during Super Rugby.

He has, more often than not, played a massive part in the Durban-based team winning matches. Whether it’s his kicking from hand or from the tee, Bosch,

knows how to use his boot. But he’s not just the owner of a pistol boot – he offers so much more. Bosch has the kind of maturity and self-belief that one doesn’t see too often in players even a few years older than him, never mind someone his age. His passing game is amazing, and he has this (seemingly innate) ability to identify space, and he sure knows how to exploit it with the boot.

He has the vision to see things that not many can. And, very importantly, he backs himself. He has just about everything. In fact, the only thing I can see being used against him is the fact that he’s not exactly at the front of the line when it comes to making tackles. But that is something that can be worked on. No one is born with a monster work rate on defence. Besides, name one other South African flyhalf that drives players back in the tackle like a Jean-Luc du Preez or Eben Etzebeth. Point is, everything else he’s got.

So one major question now is if Coetzee will use him or, even better, when he will use him. And, if so, where will Bosch be used? Well, judging by what Coetzee said last week, it does appear as if Bosch will get an opportunity to introduce himself to international rugby quite soon.

“Why not give him an opportunity? His out-of-hand kicking is unbelievable and he can kick to the posts as well. So you never know – you might need Curwin in an important match to do that,” Coetzee said.

That sounds promising – promising enough to assume that Coetzee will not fall into the usual trap of being scared to pick players when they are “too young”. Because Bosch might be young, but if you’re good enough, you’re old enough, right?

With the Sharks, he has pulled off very successful stints at both flyhalf and fullback, so where he finds himself should he get a chance is not an issue at all.

The only issue now is when he will get his chance. Because he sure has proven that he deserves it. USAIN BOLT took an emotional final bow on the track at the end of the World Championships in London on Sunday before declaring that, definitely and definitively, there was no way he would ever return to sprinting.

After embarking on a special lap of honour so slow that you could not believe that we were saying farewell to the world’s fastest man, Bolt was asked by reporters already missing him whether he might ever change his mind.

“No, I’ve seen too many people come back and make things worse and shame themselves. I won’t be one of those people who come back,” Bolt said firmly.

Twenty four hours earlier, the 30-yearold Jamaican’s matchless sprint career had ended painfully on the last leg of the 4x100 metres relay final as he crumpled to the ground in the London Stadium with a hamstring injury.

Bolt, who admitted that it had been a terrible end of a “stressful” championship for him after also losing his 100m crown, said he had felt consoled on Sunday when someone told him “Muhammad Ali lost his last fight too – so don’t be too stressed about it”.

Already he was looking forward to an exciting future, he said, with his management camp talking to IAAF President Sebastian Coe, about what he might be able to do for the sport in an ambassadorial capacity.

He also revealed that his coach Glen Mills, the sage of Jamaican athletics, wanted him to become his coaching assistant.

“So we’ll see how that goes,” Bolt smiled about the man who has put him through a lifetime of pain.

And the great man even had reporters laughing when he gave them a vision of what a 50-year-old Bolt might end up doing.

“I’ve no idea. Hopefully, with three kids, married, still in track and field, trying to help the sport, watching it grow,” he said.

“I don’t know if I’d take my kids to the track, though. I won’t be one of those parents who force their kids into things they don’t want to do.”

Before he had set off on a lap of honour, he had told the crowd he just wanted to entertain and put on a show.

He did just that before also getting a rare round of applause in the press room from “some of you guys who wrote bad things about me”.

Asked what he hoped his legacy would be, he paused for a moment before saying: “I’ve proved with hard work anything is possible. I personally think this is a good message to the kids. ‘Push on, be strong, be as good as you can be’ – that’s a good legacy to leave’.”

He was also adamant that he would “preach” to youngsters about avoiding the evil of performance-enhancing drugs.

“The sport hit rock bottom last year and the year before and now we’re on the way back up,” he said.

And his immediate aims? In typical Bolt fashion, he just smiled and declared: “The first thing I’m going to do is have some fun. I need to chill.” – Reuters