Big, tough guys turn to football
Bulls forwards hone skills – by playing soccer
TREVOR Nyakane, Lizo Gqoboka, Marvin Orie, Jamba Ulengo, Nqoba Mxoli, Dayan van der Westhuizen, Luther Obi, Jade Stigling and Kefentse Mahlo were two men short of a full soccer team when they played a game of footie right after a contact session at the Bulls’ training session yesterday.
“We’re sharpening our skills so that if this rugby thing doesn’t work out then we can have a future in soccer,” quipped towering lock Orie, who bent the football like a certain “Becks”.
Despite the pin-point crosses from Ulengo, Nyakane’s acrobatics, Van der Westhuizen’s aerial prowess and the dribbling wizardry of Gqoboka, Bulls scrum coach and former hooker Gary Botha is not buying the change-of-career fantasies.
Botha, in his playing prime, was part of a golden era that brought Super Rugby silverware to Loftus Versfeld in 2007, 2009 and 2010.
If there is anyone in the young Bulls coaching staff who knows what it takes to build a successful team, the former explosive Bok hooker is that man.
There have been concerns of a lack of experience in the Bulls camp – both players and management – going into this year’s Super Rugby, but Botha does not see this as a problem for the Pretoria side.
“To win big campaigns you have got to have a fair amount of experience. Then again, a lack of experience can also be good because those guys do not have any preconceived notions – they’re not worried about things they don’t know,” the lively Botha said yesterday.
“It’s like horse racing – you get a champion horse running against a filly that has never run against that horse, but the filly just goes all out. Not that I’m implying we are a bunch of fillies,” he chuckled.
“What I’m implying is that it is a good thing not to have that experience with no permutations; and if you have self-belief to go with that then surely you have got a chance.
“The only way to pick up experience is to physically be in it when it counts. The more you get exposed, the quicker you adapt.”
While Nyakane produced Bebeto-esque overhead kicks and Gqoboka skills which Ronaldinho would be proud of, their primary job this year will be to produce grunt in the Bulls’ front row, particularly in the scrums.
Botha is eager to see the work he has been doing with his charges in the forwards in the pre-season bear fruit when the season kicks off.
“There is a massive amount of potential in this side. At the end of the day we [coaches] can equip them with everything we have, but they still need to make the decision on the pitch to play,” Botha said. “If you have the right characters it makes it easier.
“We are excited to see what guys will bring on once they get the opportunities. Hopefully we, as coaches, can equip them the right way so that when they get those opportunities they excel.”
Above everything, Botha hopes that the Bulls team will produce entertaining rugby that will mesmerise the fans.
“We’d like to give back to our supporters and ultimately play some attractive rugby again, and get the guys to want to play at the Bulls,” Botha said.
