Cowley and Jabaar on why Sonny Bill is special
CHIEFS star Sonny Bill Williams is that one-in-a-generation player. A kind of revolutionary who doesn’t conform to the norm, and expresses his natural talent and flair.
Former Eastern Province flyhalf and Junior Springbok, Gavin Cowley, and former Saru captain and scrumhalf, Cassiem Jabaar were also players who weren’t restricted by the shackles of conformity. They played with freedom and more than just a dash of class.
As the Stormers prepare to tackle Sonny Bill and the Chiefs, The Cape Times spoke to them this week and asked what makes “SBW” so special.
Cassiem Jabaar
Sonny Bill is a role model and people identify with him. He is not just a sports person, and does lots of things that other sportsmen don’t do.
But he is also a brilliant rugby player, a thinking rugby player. He can see the gaps and can sum up a sit- uation quickly. And he uses those opportunities brilliantly.
He has got great skills; running skills, tackling skills and passing skills. But most importantly he knows how to use it. It’s one thing to be able to do it, but to do it under pressure is a skill in itself.
Offloading is a problem in South African rugby. Our rugby is still oldfashioned. We grind and grind teams, and it’s not working any longer.
He is not just showing us the future, but the present.
Gavin Cowley
You have got to look at his success on the field and his success off the field, because he is quite a character.
I think the thing that makes him quite special is the X-factor, and the sort of X-factor that you don’t often find with big, strong guys. You get big, strong guys who tend to use there height, weight and strength, more so than many other people.
The joy with Sonny Bill Williams, and as you know he is known for the Sonny Bill Williams offload, is that he has a level of unpredictability about him that I really like. I wouldn’t like to play against him because you don’t know what he is going to do. I would prefer to play a guy who just runs straight and goes into the tackle with the ball.
I think his background in other forms of rugby has helped him quite a lot, and it’s helped him to understand how to use space. He is a big guy who can read the game and not just bash it up. The difference between a guy like him and Ma’a Nonu is that Nonu is a one-dimensional player. He tucks the ball under his arm and runs at the man.