Road Runner Kolbe faces wily Le Roux on Bok trial
WITH acceleration characteristic of the Road Runner, Cheslin Kolbe’s route to the Bok squad travels through the territory currently occupied by wily coyote, Willie le Roux.
The two fullbacks will go head to head when the Stormers host the Sharks on Saturday (kickoff 5.15pm) in a South African derby that unofficially doubles as a Springbok trial.
Kolbe isn’t about to fall into the trap of looking too far down the road and thereby risk missing the proverbial box of Acme dynamite at his feet.
“I think that if you put that (Bok trial) into your mind, you won’t have a good game,” said the Stormers fullback. “You have to take every game as it comes and hopefully at the end of the day, the team pulls through because you only shine as an individual when the team is performing well.
“I’m not going to focus on individual performance and try to get motivated by certain players; I get motivated by guys within my circle. The focus is not just on Willie, it’s on the collective.”
Robbie Fleck will have had to narrow his focus to deal with a selection poser on the wing.
Stick with Leolin Zas or revert to Kobus van Wyk? This was perhaps the toughest decision facing the Stormers coach as he finalised plans to sink the Sharks.
“It is a tricky one,” Fleck said of the choice between hot-hand rookie Zas and third-season Stormer Van Wyk, who has 14 starts to his name.
“To be honest, we’re in a situation with the props, loose forwards and wings where there will be opportunities to rotate because it’s a hugely long season.”
Fleck implied that Zas would retain the No 11 jersey when the team is announced today, and Van Wyk would have to wait for his opportunity to reclaim a place in the starting line-up.
There are no guarantees for profession- als in sport and the reality is that Zas has seized the opportunity presented by Van Wyk’s injury withdrawal.
The 20-year-old from Worcester came off the bench to smoke three defenders with his first touch in the 33-9 win against the Bulls, and then took his try-scoring opportunity in last week’s 20-10 triumph in Bloemfontein.
“I think it’s great that Leolin did well,” added Fleck. “He scored a good try against the Cheetahs and also created a good opportunity for Juan de Jongh. We would have liked to get the ball to him a little bit more.”
Zas has only notched up 98 minutes of Super Rugby duty, but Kolbe says that the youngster carries himself like a veteran.
“For a guy like Leolin, who has come in from the Western Province Under-21s, the way that he’s performing makes it seem like he’s been here for years already,” he said. “He’s a good guy, not just on the field but off the field as well, and he’s very fast.”
The Stormers have made a fast start to Fleck’s first season at the helm, but they will be hard-pressed to maintain their current speed as they face tough matches against the Sharks and Brumbies.
“We’ve got to be up for it, it’s as simple as that,” said Fleck.
“We’re playing against two sides with good set pieces, decent mauls, they bring it physically, and they’ve got big, strong backs.
“The Brumbies and Sharks are two of the more physical sides in the competition, they’re a bit heavier and a bit more physical than us, but we’re playing at home and, right now, our focus has to be on the Sharks. We’re good for the challenge.”