Springbok S’bu Nkosi’s immediate future is up in the air - and the Vodacom Bulls are adamant what happens next is up to him.
The World Cup-winning winger has played 16 tests for the Springboks and just a handful for his Pretoria franchise since moving from Durban at the end of last season, but since then has been involved in more off-field drama than on-field touches of the ball and it seems to be clear the patience of his employers is wearing thin.
Nkosi made headlines last season when the Bulls launched a search that involved the police and their own security-company sponsors to find him after he went AWOL for three weeks, and said they “genuinely feared for his safety” after he failed to turn up for training or make contact for that time despite their best efforts.
Eventually, he was found at his father’s house in Emahahleni, where the Bulls gave him some time off and spoke of the “mental challenges” he was facing.
PUBLIC SUPPORT
While there was an overwhelming outpouring of public support over a top international player struggling with mental issues and the Bulls were praised for the way they supported their player in his darkest moment, the story seems to have taken a turn since then.
Nkosi returned to training and played his first game back against the DHL Stormers but since then has only played a handful of games.
Despite the support the Bulls have been giving him, he has struggled with the workload at training and according to those at the Bulls has not trained well with his teammates.
At the request of the doctor helping him deal with his mental issues, the Bulls gave him another three weeks off to try and work on these and return as a more focused player.
Nkosi, according to team sources, returned after five weeks, two weeks longer than expected and never informed the Bulls of the extra time he took off.
EFFECT ON TEAMMATES
And while there is still much sympathy for his issues, there have been slow murmurs rising of other factors in his life that are contributing to him staying off the field. This has had an effect on his teammates and while they were initially supportive, there seems to be a feeling inside the camp that Nkosi has a different set of rules and responsibilities than the rest of the side, and this has caused friction.
While the Bulls have been sympathetic, they are, after all, still a business and Nkosi is a marquee player who earns one of the top salaries in the franchise, for which they are currently getting very little in return.
And for some reason, it seems Nkosi doesn’t feel very happy at the Bulls, prompting their decision to allow him to look around for another club to base his future at.
WORLD XV
The decision to allow him to go and play for the World XV was a positive one, especially as the Bulls could have used him in a tight Currie Cup race at the moment, but they decided it would be better for the player to allow him to play internationally again.
There was a hope that it might help him return to the form that he showed in becoming a Springbok and he would return in a more positive mindset. But Nkosi’s decision to send out a social media post directed at his critics seemed to have negated this.
There is clearly more to this story than both sides are letting on, and the Bulls have privately said it helps nobody that this is played out in the media. But Nkosi’s post on Instagram, which read: “It was reviving (sic) to my passion, to spend a mere week with men who are pure of heart. A break from being judged by men who are bigger in their minds than they are in reality.”
Whether this was intended or not, it has been interpreted as a swipe against his team and against Director of Rugby Jake White, and the Bulls called Nkosi in for an explanation.
WHITE DISAPPOINTED
White said on Thursday that he was disappointed with the post, and had spoken to Nkosi about it.
He added that Nkosi needed to decide if he still wanted to play for the Bulls, and intimated that currently, for whatever reason, it is difficult to choose him despite his pedigree.
“It would be sad if that happens. I don’t think anybody – I’ve got kids his age – go from being a World Cup winner into not being guaranteed of playing rugby. He is a talented player,” White said.
“I am very disappointed with what he wrote on social media. He knows it, I’ve had a meeting with him. Considering the Bulls let him go and play in a game overseas, to read the comments he made was obviously disappointing.
“But as I said, he’s got to make decisions. He is a big boy now, and he’s got to make decisions about where he wants to go. And it’s not always in anyone else’s hands other than the player.
“But at this point in time, he is not playing well enough, he is not training hard enough, and I don’t see him enough for him to warrant selection above guys who have been training in the group anyway.
“It’s not for me to discuss a guy’s future. As I said, he is a big boy now. He’s a World Cup-winning Springbok and he’s got to make decisions now about where he wants to be, and he’s got to make sure those decisions are in the best interests of himself and the club.”
NO GO TO STORMERS
Nkosi’s stocks also seem low with other clubs. The DHL Stormers rubbished a claim that he was heading to Cape Town and it seems there is little appetite for him locally to find a new team. The Cell C Sharks were happy to release him after he also went AWOL while contracted to them and Nkosi has also parted ways with his agents ROC Nation, and is now being represented by French-based agent Anthony Johnson. This makes a move - if any - likely to be to France in future.
Either way, Nkosi seems to have two options - make peace with the Bulls and fight his way back into the side, or leave to an overseas club. Neither seem to be an easy path forward.
But it would be sad to see a talented player like Nkosi fade away into obscurity. That is something that nobody wants.