Coleman fights to earn his place
Left out of original squad, flyhalf digs to impress coach
EVERYBODY loves a fighter and Southern Kings flyhalf Kurt Coleman has shown he can rise to a challenge when the chips are down and the future looks bleak.
Doubts about whether he still had a role at the Kings must have been ringing in Coleman’s head when he was left out of his team’s three-match tour of Europe last month.
One of the most experienced players in the Kings squad, Coleman had fallen out of favour at the Kings.
When his name did not appear on the team sheet for the European tour, the first conclusion was that he had perhaps picked up an injury.
However, that was quickly dispelled by Kings head coach Deon Davids, who spelt out in no uncertain terms why he had decided to leave Coleman at home and pick Martin du Toit and Benhard Janse van Rensburg as his flyhalves.
A veteran of 41 matches for the Stormers and 64 games for Western Province, Coleman arrived in Port Elizabeth at the start of the season to add extra experience to the Kings lineup.
Explaining Coleman’s omission, Davids said: “I think Kurt knows precisely the reasons why he is not in the squad and there are aspects of his game that he has to work on. That is the main reason he did not make the squad.
“I have been very impressed with the way Benhard has progressed. As a flyhalf he has got a good kicking boot and he makes good decisions and is a good defender. He can play at No 10 and No 12.
“I think he is a young man who has stuck up his hand in a short period of time, and we are confident that he can pull it through for us and be a good assistant for Martin du Toit.”
Coleman, however, has presented Davids with a welcome selection headache ahead of his team’s next match against Italian outfit Benetton Treviso on March 24.
Coleman provided extra spark at flyhalf when he came on to replace injured Martin du Toit when the Kings thumped the Dragons 45-13 at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
The six-try feast against the Dragons was set in motion in the second half when Coleman carved open the Welsh defence before off-loading to centre Luzuko Vulindlu, who went over for his second try of the evening.
Apart from his tactical play, Coleman also kicked six conversions and a penalty in a maiden PRO14 win which broke a 16-game losing streak.
“I think Kurt played his best game since he joined us,” Davids said.
“He showed the ability that he has. Those are the things we saw in Kurt before we recruited him to come to Port Elizabeth.
“I also think there are one or two other players that made a step up in terms of their performance and that is good.
“If people react well in terms of the challenge that you put to them and understand what they need to do to become better, it is a good sign.
“Irrespective of the small group we are in it is important to drive certain standards and to be open and honest in terms of what we expect and how we need to perform.
“Irrespective of what you have achieved before, it is important to build the right culture and that is what we are trying to do here.”
Now Coleman’s standout showing against the Dragons has put him back into the frame for a starting berth.
With four matches left in the competition, the Kings will be hoping the Dragons win sparks a late season revival.
The Kings’ remaining games are against Benetton Treviso (March 24), Munster (April 7), Cardiff Blues (April 14) and the Cheetahs (April 27).
When he first arrived in Port Elizabeth, Coleman gave an indication of his uncompromising approach to the game.
“In Cape Town I always told myself that if you want be No 1, then you have to train like No 2. If you are No 1 you tend to slack off a lot more than the guy behind you.
“The guy behind is always going to put you under pressure. That is something I have always taken with me throughout my career,” Coleman said.
Coleman was in the Kings side that lost 57-10 to Scarlets in their first game of the season in Llanelli in Wales.
However, he was injured in the Kings’ second game against Connacht, and made his comeback earlier this month when the Port Elizabeth side came close to toppling Ulster.
Coleman said the Kings head coach Deon Davids had given him at lot of freedom at No 10.
“We get a lot of freedom but we obviously get a framework or structure on how we want to play. In that framework you can express yourself.”
The question now is whether Coleman will be wearing the No 10 jersey when the Kings kick off against Benetton Treviso?