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FEW rugby players have taken the same winding road to Super Rugby, and possibly Test rugby in the coming months, that Southern Kings openside Chris Cloete has.

From breeding ground Selborne College to the Sharks and Western Province, it seems a fairly normal path. But that’s where Cloete’s road diverges across the Indian Ocean – not to the rugby heartlands of Australia or New Zealand – but Kandy in Sri Lanka.

Who knew there was even a rugby league on an island more commonly associated with cricket? But Cloete spent seven months in the heat and humble surroundings, hitting rucks and engaging in a culture far removed from his comfort zone in pursuit of his dream of playing high-level rugby.

“I was contracted to Sharks immediately after school but after two years they didn’t renew it,” Cloete said. “So I moved to WP where I played Vodacom Cup under John Dobson.

“I played five or six matches before I contracted glandular fever and that took me out of the game for the entire season.

“Sri Lanka was a surprisingly decent level of rugby because there were a lot of Fijian Sevens players in the league and a few ITM Cup guys from NZ as well.”

Cloete added that some tough players from Samoa and Tonga also appear.

That experience is edging Cloete closer to Bok selection with each passing week in Super Rugby. He is top of the turnover stats with 14 as well as the tackle turnover category with nine. These are vital numbers for a fetcher and are the evidence needed to strengthen his case for Test selection.

At 1.76m and barely 100kg, Cloete is not a modern day monster but his pure instinct for burrowing into the dark places and doing his job has impressed one of the greats – Heinrich Brüssow.

The former Bok flank, who mix, although he would have to come in behind Francois Louw. The Boks need another option, and Chris could provide it.

“He needs to be around the Bok squad so that the coaches can have a look at him and see what his attitude is like.

“Because on the field he has a great attitude, which an openside needs.

“The Boks have three years to mould this guy into international level in time for the Rugby World Cup in 2019.

“He needs to get into the Bok environment so they can bring him on slowly.”

Cloete’s destructive ability at the breakdown adds weight to the theory that menacing opensides are born, not made, Brüssow feels.

“Being a fetcher is instinctive. I’ve never really been taught how to arrive at a ruck, or how to anticipate where a ruck is going to be, I just get there. I’ve been playing openside since I was about eight, so I’ve been doing it for years.

“I’ve played the same way my whole life.

“I don’t think you can teach someone to be a fetcher, you just have it in you or not. A coach can’t teach you how to get to rucks. You just do.”