Ken Borland

Eighthman Phepsi Buthelezi is just 22 years old and has been playing in the shadow of Sikhumbuzo Notshe, but with the Springbok missing much of the season due to long-term injury, the youngster has been delivering quality performances on an almost weekly basis for the Sharks.

“I feel really good about my game, I’m really happy,” Buthelezi said on Tuesday. “It’s awesome for me that Sikhumbuzo is now back and I have to give credit to the whole squad because it’s easy to play well when the whole team is performing.

“So credit to our game-drivers and I’m really grateful to have such experienced Springboks with us. I feel very fortunate to be in a place where I’ve got a few games under my belt now.

“I’m now used to how things are done at this level, thanks to Sikhumbuzo’s injury. I am a student of the game and I will continue to be one, but I have taken a lot of confidence from my exposure in the No.8 jersey.

“Every time I pull that on, I just want to give it my all and I aim to deliver every game,” Buthelezi said.

But what has Buthelezi done to earn all those starts and to overtake Notshe, who has cutting-edge skills of his own?

Former Natal Sharks and Springboks eighthman Gary Teichmann spoke to The Citizen about Buthelezi’s strengths –

Who he is

“I had a bit to do with Phepsi as a person when I was at the Sharks as CEO, and he is very well-rounded and grounded for someone so young. He also has leadership ability and his style of leadership is very good. He is really committed to the Sharks, he came straight out of school and into the system, and he really pushes the team culture.”

What he brings on the field

“As a player, I initially thought he was more of a flank, but the way he has performed at eighthman has been wonderful. He’s really come through in leaps and bounds.

“His work-rate cannot be questioned, he’s dynamic, with pace and explosiveness, which always helps. And there’s nothing wrong with his ball-skills.

“This year he has really come into his own due to Sikhumbuzo Notshe’s wretched luck with injury. Phepsi has been really impressive and he certainly has a bright future,” Teichmann said.

Lukhanyo Am has a sense of gravitas in his bearing and is the defensive organiser of the Springbok backline, but one gets the feeling that inside that sturdy 98kg frame there is a playful youngster who just wants to throw the ball around and show his considerable skills.

But Test rugby is serious business and Am reiterated the statements of other members of the Springbok camp this week when he said they have to avoid falling into the trap of trying to play too much rugby against the All Blacks on Saturday, while also ensuring they are full of energy on defence.

“We created a lot of opportunities but we just didn’t convert because we did not execute properly. We had a great start to the second half, but soon we were behind again and there was scoreboard pressure. It felt like we were chasing the game or trying to rush things. And then the passes just don’t stick, you look a bit flustered, but it’s purely scoreboard pressure.

“We are fully focused though on bouncing back and rectifying the mistakes of the previous two Tests. If we stick to our processes then hopefully we will get the result. Defence is also one of our strengths, but last weekend we lacked a bit of energy. We don’t need to change anything in our plan, the missed tackles were just individual errors and not the system’s fault,” the 27-year-old Am said.

The outside centre scored South Africa’s only try last weekend against Australia, getting on the end of scrumhalf Faf de Klerk’s neat grubber in the 42^nd minute. It gave the Springboks the lead (17-15) for the first time in the match, but they were the last points the visitors would score in Brisbane.

Saturday’s Townsville Test promises a really interesting midfield battle. Rieko Ioane first broke through at international level on the wing and David Havili played most of his rugby at fullback for the Canterbury Crusaders. They have been fill-ins at centre for the likes of Jack Goodhue and Anton Lienert-Brown, but have certainly put themselves in the mix to continue together as New Zealand prepare for the 2023 World Cup.

Am and De Allende have built a formidable partnership through winning the Rugby Championship and the World Cup in 2019 and beating the British and Irish Lions earlier this year. They were regarded as the leading combination in world rugby, but their mediocre showings over the last two weekends suddenly saw former All Blacks coach Laurie Mains describe them as  being “simply not up to Test level”.

Really?! Either the 75-year-old Mains has not watched any other Springbok games over the last two years or dementia is setting in.