Big step Wandisile on cusp of Super Rugby breakthrough
Wandisile Simelane plays with a huge smile on his face and his trickery is sure to put one on yours too
● For a boy wonder whose trickery is a YouTube click away, Wandisile Simelane has no fears his talent will be suffocated now that he’s playing with the big boys.
Prodigies can find it tough in senior rugby as they operate in less space and time, while often having their right of existence questioned by more restrictive game plans.
“I feel we get enough freedom at the Lions,” Simelane quickly laid that fear to rest.
“It is a perfect union for me as an individual to come and express my skills. In terms of it being tough, I don’t worry about that, I stick to what I do and the processes we have as a squad. I will try to bring my own flavour into it. I believe in my skills,” said Simelane, who is yet to decide whether he should play inside or outside centre.
Those who have watched Simelane are only too aware of his ability to evade defenders. The self-confessed goofball admits he does so with a smile on his face and, as a mesmerised witness, you can’t help doing the same.
Simelane, who turned his back on a potential career with Kaizer Chiefs, plays rugby with the same joie de vivre he did with the round ball. “I do. In anything I do I try to enjoy it and do it well. The moment I start enjoying what I do I play well. The moment I have a smile on my face I play my best games. Everything will click and fall into place,” said Simelane.
Pressure? What pressure?
The 20-year old hasn’t been around long enough for others’ expectations to weigh him down.
“I don’t think there’s pressure. I’ve got the backing of all the guys in the squad. On the field I honestly feel no pressure. It’s about enjoyment and loving my time there.”
Simelane makes it clear he has no regrets about his decision to choose rugby over soccer. “My dad actually made that decision for me. Back then I wanted to play soccer in primary school. When I got the opportunity my dad basically said I need to take it because not everybody gets the opportunity to study for free.”
He has no lingering doubts and watches the Soweto Derby with ice in his veins. “I was super firm in my belief. Once I decided I was going to play rugby I never looked back.
“I actually don’t watch that much soccer anymore. I do watch the (English) Premiership,” said the Liverpool devotee.
As if he needed more inspiration the rise of teammate Aphiwe Dyantyi last year brought his own journey into sharper focus. “Aphiwe hasn’t just inspired me but also the rest of SA. Think of the little black kids growing up in Soweto. He’s been inspirational. He has inspired me also. What he did in a single year is just unbelievable. We spend a lot of time together. We chill, playing cards and board games.”
Unlike Dyantyi, who was in the rugby wilderness after matric, Simelane has consistently excelled among his peers.
“My journey has been absolutely amazing. I couldn’t have asked for any better from the junior World Cup last year to Super Rugby this year. It has been unreal. I’m really blessed and enjoying every moment.”
Simelane steps into a Super Rugby outfit that has lost the last three Super Rugby finals. That can be soul destroying.
Moreover, the Lions have lost significant personnel but it is perhaps also time for renewal. The centre feels however there is no need for the Lions to reset. “We’ve lost a lot of players but the main core has remained. Malcolm (Marx) is still here, Warren (Whiteley) is still here, Elton (Jantjies), Lionel (Mapoe) and Andries Coetzee are still here. The senior core group is still here and you can’t throw away what they’ve built.
“We’ve just added to that. We feed off them. We can’t cast that away because clearly some things were working. Our main goal is to add a few things that will help us win the Super Rugby trophy.”