[ad_1]
What makes Cheslin Kolbe so special? THEY HAVE GIVEN US A CONFLICT investigates by approaching four experts in the latest SA Rugby magazine.
READ: What’s in our latest magazine?
Since then that Trying it in the World Cup final, Springbok winger Cheslin Kolbe hasn’t exactly given up. We’ve seen him appear throughout the show and even kick off for French Club Toulouse, all on his way to scoring more jaw-dropping attempts.
How is it that a man of the paltry dimensions of 1.71 m and 80 kg nudging to gain space in battle for pound for pound is the best rugby player in the world? We asked some of his past and present coaches, and the consensus is that the little one is a unique player in a generation.
Skill set – Mzwandile Stick, Springbok assistant coach
Considering what Cheslin can now do between the four lines, he is probably one of the best rugby players in the world. Most people focus on his X factor, but the best thing about Cheslin is his basics.
If you look at his aerial skills, you can’t believe what he can do with his height and size. Since he’s experienced in sevens, there’s nothing he can’t do – if you put him in scrum-half, he’ll deliver. Sometimes Toulouse plays with him at 10 and kicks for poles. He is a born footballer. It is important for a player to be solid in the fundamentals of the game because many situations will not allow a player like Cheslin to pass the way he does.
The best rugby players are those capable of producing something even when nothing is on because they can give a good pass or secure the ball at the break or carry it correctly. When it comes to the game of sevens, there’s nowhere to hide, so many of his strengths evolved from that background where he had to deal with forwards running in his channel and physically apply himself in that battle.
When it comes to his game he is an all-rounder, there are no weaknesses, even in his physique. Because he is a born footballer, the school coaches wanted him closer to the ball, so they played with him in the upper half. So it’s no wonder he can also play scrum-half, as you saw when we had trouble with the nines against Argentina at the Rugby Championship last year.
Even with us at the World Cup, when we opted for the six-two division, if we got into trouble with the numbers, we knew Cheslin could substitute in any position because there’s nothing he can’t do except maybe scrum .. .
Speed and strength – Allan Temple-Jones, former Blitzboks conditioning coach
Cheslin joined the academy of sevens, I think 2012, when we had a great year of Craven Week talent that included Werner Kok and Justin Geduld. He entered an extremely competitive environment where we not only put them to the test in the academy, but also exposed them to the level of training that the group leaders were also doing.
That environment was conducive to getting the most out of the players; that internal competition was critical to driving those players to succeed in terms of how far they could push themselves in training. Cheslin, Justin, and even Kwagga Smith, to some extent, were a bit lean on the physical side, but they worked extremely hard on their fitness just to get stronger and fitter to tolerate those loads. When they arrived at the academy we gave them a good basic conditioning block on the back of the schools rugby.
That’s something Cheslin worked particularly hard on. I think the fact that they were seen as small for fifteen-year-old rugby led them to prove that people were wrong. They worked pretty hard on it and in the sevens system we often exposed them to fighting bigger guys like Frankie Horne. That’s where their strength-to-weight ratio comes from.
Plus, the fact that Justin and Cheslin were good companions helped them push each other to survive in those dark places we put them in. Cheslin was extremely fast when it came to 40m (I can’t remember the time now), but his 40m was not. his choice, since he didn’t have the Seabelo Senatla type pace, as far as top speed.
What set him apart was his explosive strength and agility from things like the standing wide jump, where you have to jump right off the bat. Cheslin was miles ahead of most of the squad in that regard. Those explosive qualities and agility are what is reflected in his step.
Defending – Jacques Nienaber, Springbok Head Coach
I coached Cheslin’s defense at the Western Province U19 level in 2012. He was already an incredible defender in a back four that included Werner Kok and Justin Geduld. They were among the least scared runners I’ve ever trained. they don’t have a scared hair on their headsso Cheslin’s size never bothered me. When [director of rugby] Rassie Erasmus asked me if Cheslin would be good enough defensively for us, I told him I had no problem with his defense.
In fact, I told him he was a phenomenal defender. When I was playing seven, I was playing against the great Fijians and Tongans and I was not scared, so I was never nervous about their defense. What makes him a phenomenal defender is that when you’re not big and you have a guy like Ben Lam or the other greats running at you, you should be able to drop your shoulder and take their legs off them.
You must be able to put your head in a dark place because you don’t have the size to get into a wrestling match with them because they weigh you up to 30kg in some cases. So you have to be technically solid, you have to cut off his legs going below the knees.
His level change, the ability to put himself in a strong position before making contact, is incredible, his speed in level change is incredible. So that you can stand upright and then because of your speed in the next half meter, you can lower your body height to just above ankle height and cut your legs.
Because he is technically in a better position than the ball carrier, he dominates or survives contact. And because in sevens you have to earn your own breakdowns, as there are no open flanks, your ability to get back into competition and slow the ball is worth its weight in gold because at the edges, your loose forwards don’t always go there.
When it comes to his speed, I can show you a clip of a move where New Zealand aims at Lukhanyo Am’s outer shoulder from an initial move. They point to your outer shoulder and look for the discharge, so you have to go in to block that discharge channel, but then they open up to where you were. Cheslin blocked that discharge and still made the cover for the last guy. The agility and speed it takes to do it is phenomenal.
Step – Dawie Snyman, Stormers assistant coach
The first time I heard from Cheslin was when I was 16, playing Grant Khomo Week on flyhalf. My uncle, Dawie Snyman, called me up and said he had seen the next best half fly in the country. Then I trained Cheslin at Craven Week and at the U21 level. He has always had a good sense of the game and good feet.
He kept working on it. He understands the space and studies it. You may have a big stride, but there are little adjustments you can make to manipulate the defense, that’s something he spent a lot of time on when he was young.
What’s impressive about his stride is that he doesn’t stray that far from the defender when he steps. Sometimes with the step we think that you put your foot and change direction, where Cheslin is phenomenal he is faster because he explodes forward.
That’s why it can attack that little hole when it just stepped on someone. Usually when you step on a guy you meet the defender catching up, Cheslin can slide into that defender because he is so powerful with his stride. If you watch his last attempt at the World Cup, he beats the striker with a chicken step, pushing Owen Farrell across, then just wait for the right moment. If you look at it, it attacks Farrell’s inner shoulder.
With Cheslin, it’s not about hitting someone dead, he hits you on the shoulder because he’s walking too late. He beats you once you are almost committed to a tackle, which is almost impossible to defend. He can stomp with both feet, but I think he’s predominantly coming off right now because of the position he’s playing.
* This feature first appeared in the last SA Rugby magazine, on sale now!
Subscribe here
[ad_2]
