Rosko the man of the moment
SPECMAN: BATTERED STORMERS JUST HAD NO ANSWER
Robbie Fleck’s men ripped apart as Bulls run rampant.
Rosko Specman merely laughed after being asked whether he’s the new darling of Loftus Versfeld. “Not a chance! I can’t say I’m a darling yet. It’s only my first match, I don’t want to put undue pressure on myself. It’s a long road that lies ahead.”
Regardless, it took the Blitzboks legend Rosko just three minutes to leave an almost indelible mark on Super Rugby.
Recruited late last year by the Bulls to make another stab at fifteens, the 29-year-old put his franchise on the road to a sumptuous 40-3 win over the Stormers at Loftus at the weekend by scoring the opening two tries.
Specman first brilliantly picked up a poor pass on the left before ghosting past the flailing tackles of Dillyn Leyds and Wilco Louw to dot down.
Fifteen minutes later the 29-year-old was fed a sublime inside pass from the impressive Warrick Gelant before evading another three tackles.
He was denied a hat-trick by a stray Bulls hand in a rare Stormers attacking move that fell flat, but the impression had been made.
“I have to be honest, I really didn’t think I was going to deliver a performance like that, especially on debut,” said Specman.
“I really have to give credit to my team-mates though. The guys really did everything up front. They consistently got over the advantage line and fell back quickly when defending. Either way, there was always space to work with.
“My job, as a wing, is to finish and I was able to do it.”
Unlike his Blitzboks teammate Seabelo Senatla, who hasn’t yet found his mojo at this level, Specman adapted very quickly.
Yet he believes that’s not really surprising.
He did, after all, start his career as a 15s player.
“It wasn’t difficult for me to come back to the format,” said Specman.
“I played some Pro14 for the Cheetahs last season and I always knew if also wanted to play Super Rugby.”
Meanwhile, Stormers coach Robbie Fleck merely lamented an “off-day” from his charges.
They had been delayed by an accident on the N1, but he wasn’t offering that disruption as an excuse.
“It was a clinical performance from them and not so much from us,” said Fleck.