Ken Borland

If South Africa’s 2003 World Cup squad were a wine, it would have been considered a very poor vintage indeed, but they did inspire a 17-year-old kid in Umtata to such an extent that he is now on his way to the 2015 World Cup in Great Britain.

The young adult dreams of Lwazi Mvovo are now coming true as the maker of tries looks to cement his place in the Springbok starting XV following an impressive display in the previous Test they played, the belated win over Argentina in Buenos Aires.

“I was watching the 2003 World Cup in Umtata and I decided to start playing rugby then. I was playing soccer at the time, but I ended up switching sports because I knew I could make it in rugby. That was my whole focus, I didn’t allow any stumbling blocks to get in the way of my dream,” Mvovo said after being named in Heyneke Meyer’s World Cup squad in Durban.

While the experienced JP Pietersen will obviously be pushing hard to regain the number 14 jersey, Mvovo has another string to his bow in that he can play fullback and can obviously be expected to handle the kicking game, both in terms of offence and defence, that is likely to see plenty of action at the World Cup.

“Playing as a fullback for the Sharks has opened up a whole new game-plan for me, it’s been a great couple of years. I think I have lots of natural talent, but I still have to work hard. The moment you relax you lose that feeling that you’re in the game. I still do speed training, but also a lot of kicking and catching. I do whatever I need to do to improve – kicking, catching high balls – and I’ll still do that going forward,” Mvovo said.

Although Mvovo grabbed his only chance in the international season with both hands to seal his World Cup place – proving his BMT – he said it was a nervous week in Durban before the squad announcement.

“Nobody can be sure you’re in the squad, but you just have to concentrate on training well and making sure that whenever the opportunity comes, you use it very well. So many players want to be in the Springbok team, it’s an honour and a privilege, so the training camp was just about working hard for me,” Mvovo said.

The 29-year-old with 13 Test caps does not need any prompting to talk about the United Kingdom being a happy hunting ground for him. He made his Springbok debut in Edinburgh in 2010 and he scored his first Test try the following weekend against England at Twickenham, a fine individual effort that sealed a 21-11 victory.

“Yes, Twickenham was where I scored my first international try and there are great memories whenever I go there. I hope to do the same this year if I get the chance.

“This team is experienced in the Northern Hemisphere, the tour at the end of last year really helped us. We’re going with a game-plan and we must just stick to it, the fields and the weather don’t affect that a lot,” Mvovo said.

The transformation issue swirling around Springbok rugby is also not going to distract Mvovo.

“What I can control is my dream of going to the World Cup, so performing at the camp was the most important thing, I didn’t let outside stuff affect me. But my heroes as a kid were Springboks so we must be the heroes of children now,” Mvovo said.

There was a time when Wayne Parnell was one of the hottest prospects on the planet, dominating the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in 2008 alongside the likes of Virat Kohli, Tim Southee and Ravindra Jadeja, who are all now world stars of the international game.

New Australian captain Steven Smith (as well as the late Phillip Hughes), Kane Williamson, Ahmed Shehzad, Junaid Khan, Umar Akmal, Dinesh Chandimal and Darren Bravo were all part of that tournament as well.

That Parnell is an extravagantly gifted cricketer is not in doubt, nor that he can be a tricky customer to manage at times, but it is also clear that the 25-year-old has certainly not fulfilled his talent.

And I strongly believe that that has not all been his own fault; young cricketers need to be treated with care, no matter how talented they are.

Parnell was thrown into senior international cricket as a 19-year-old in January 2009, in Australia, just 10 months after that junior world cup. Although some initial performances were encouraging, like all inexperienced players he struggled for consistency and began to be chosen in squads without earning a regular place in the starting XI.

All that touring, without actually playing much, took its toll and Parnell became more inconsistent. He was never free to learn his trade at first-class or franchise level; eight years after making his first-class debut, he is finally playing his 50^th match this weekend for the Warriors (and doing rather well). By way of comparison, Parnell’s 2008 team-mates, Rilee Rossouw and Reeza Hendricks, have played 73 and 85 first-class matches respectively and their stars are definitely on the rise, while his is waning. Southee has played 37 Tests and claimed 128 wickets, Parnell has just seven wickets in four Tests.

Parnell for me is a cautionary tale when it comes to the treatment of South Africa’s latest junior world cup sensation – Kagiso Rabada.

I was delighted that Rabada was released from the national squad playing in the first Test against the West Indies to go and play a Sunfoil Series four-day game for the Highveld Lions.

As good as it is for Rabada to be bowling in the nets and soaking up the ProteaFire atmosphere, I would beseech the national selectors to please allow this wonderful young talent to grow the foundation in the game that Parnell missed out on.

Through playing and learning at that level, against various types of batsmen, in different conditions, Rabada will know his game when he finally steps up to play Test cricket.

He can recycle the knowledge he will gain in the Lions set-up from such experienced cricketers as Neil McKenzie, Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Stephen Cook.

It is not too late, of course, for Parnell to fulfil his potential and he might even one day open the bowling in a Test with Rabada. But like good wine, great cricketers are not rushed, they are developed and matured.

I would also have preferred seeing Temba Bavuma return to the Lions side and get some time in the middle, hopefully adding to the 90 runs he has scored in four Sunfoil Series innings this season.

In regards to that, national coach Russell Domingo said “the media would be all over us if a makeshift 12^th man dropped a catch”, which seems a bit harsh on Robin Peterson!

As things worked out, both Bavuma and Peterson were required in the field, but hopefully the young batsman will be able to get some proper runs under his belt before what seems an inevitable call-up for him too.