There was a time, meaning after the two games against the All Blacks in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship, where it was possible to wonder if Cheslin Kolbe, for all his brilliance and his massive contribution to the Springbok cause, had lost a bit of his try-scoring mojo.
At that point, it was the other Bok wing, Kurt-Lee Arendse, who was giving more work to the scoreboard operators. That has changed though, with Kolbe’s outstanding game against Argentina in Mbombela seven weeks ago being capped by a fine try that broke his mini-drought, and then against England at Twickenham on Saturday, his brace underlined his finishing ability in indelible ink.
Kolbe easily outfoxed and outpaced the otherwise impressive but arguably too pedestrian on defence England fullback Freddie Steward when he ran onto a pinpoint Manie Libbok cross-kick for his team’s third try in their 29-20 win at England’s rugby headquarters. It was Kolbe again who effectively put the game to bed with his second try in the 62nd minute.
The initial good work was done by Damian de Allende’s strong break up the right flank, but it was Kolbe’s pace down the touchline against a lagging England cover defence that sealed the deal. With Handre Pollard’s touchline conversion pushing the Boks more than a score ahead with less than 18 minutes to go, it was the match clincher against a team that, once condemned to a catch-up role, lost its shape.
CHARACTERISTICALLY HUMBLE
Kolbe has of course haunted England before, with his score in the late stages of the 2019 Rugby World Cup final in Yokohama effectively ensuring that Bok fans were able to celebrate the annexing of the Webb Ellis trophy several minutes before fulltime. Kolbe’s role wasn’t limited to his try-scoring, he was also excellent again in the aerial battle, but he was in his characteristic humble mood when asked about it all afterwards.
“As a winger, it is always good to score tries,” said Kolbe. “But a lot of credit must go to the guys on the inside for putting in that hard work. It doesn’t go unnoticed. It’s what gives us opportunities on the outside.
“Sometimes the guys don’t get the recognition they deserve, but we know what it means for all of us,” he added.
He is right of course but he’s also not telling the full story. Kolbe is a freak, a phenomenon with abilities and skills that the world has seldom seen. He is the diametric opposite in physical stature to the legendary All Black wing Jonah Lomu but arguably is making as big an impact on the sport and penning a new narrative around the argument that size doesn’t matter if you have the ability, heart, physical and mental strength.
Kolbe played fullback for the Stormers and Western Province earlier in his career and operates as a second fullback on the field, although we have also seen him cover scrumhalf and has even thrown the ball in at the lineouts.
Kolbe’s commitment to the cause was advertised by his obvious agony when sitting on the side of the field in the final minutes of last year’s World Cup final against the All Blacks after being carded, and his passion for the team shone through when he spoke after his match-winning effort at Twickenham.
“I am immensely proud of the team. We knew playing England at Twickenham was not going to be easy. I am just glad our composure showed at the end of the 80 minutes. Even when things weren’t going our way, we pulled together and found solutions. It wasn’t our best performance, but we will look at that going into next week.”
NOT UNDERESTIMATING WALES
Coach Rassie Erasmus is likely to field a changed-up team so Kolbe may not play in Cardiff, but he warns that Wales, despite their 10 losses on a trot record heading into Sunday evening’s game against Australia, shouldn’t be underestimated.
“Wales has never been an easy game. It has always been tough against them, ever since my debut in 2018,” said Kolbe.
“We know what they can bring. They have a similar game plan to ours and we know it will be a physical battle. Wales are being written off, but we are definitely not doing that.”
The Boks move to Cardiff from London on Sunday and it will be interesting to see just how much Erasmus’ team deviates from the one that beat England. He made 11 changes for the Scotland game, 12 for the one in London, and the lack of continuity might arguably have played some role in the Boks not completely hitting their straps in either.
However, as Kolbe intimated, the team does have a winning habit, and a 17-point win over Scotland and a nine-point triumph over England, both in away games where they played below expectations, is not to be scoffed at.