If there was one takeaway picture from the last time the Vodacom United Rugby Championship Jukskei derby took place, it wasn’t a superb try or Jordan Hendrikse’s missed kick at the end of the game.
Rather, it was the sight of Emirates Lions prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye clattering into a flying Sergeal Peterson to take him out with one of the biggest hits of the season.
The impact was brutal, the replays sublime.
Ntlabakanye, who often gets more attention because of his massive frame, announced himself in no uncertain terms in that moment.
Replays may have asked whether the tackle was legal, but in the moment, the stadium seemed in awe of the collision, with even the refereeing team being brought to smiles.
After all, it was a moment that transcended team support. A moment which reminded why rugby in its essence is a collision sport.
A flying little guy being clattered by a big guy who has no right to move that fast. Who doesn’t love to see it.
THE BIG FELLA
Ntlabakanye is a big fella. Literally. Wikipedia lists him as 1.83m and 200kg, although his fitness coaches at the Lions probably dispute that last number. Even if it is 50kg too heavy for truthfulness, it is still a massive number.
And it has made him a rising cult hero - at just 24 he has already etched his name into the talk of higher honours, having come through the junior ranks at age-group level and impressed with every turn.
Asenathi isn’t just a colossus of a player. He is the immovable object, and on defence he is a literal battering ram.
This week it was all smiles as he recounted the Loftus memory, now the subject of a million ticktocks and social media moments.
And was there really a surprise when he channelled James Brown and said it felt good? Really good?
“It really feels good. It really gets me going, it gets the guys around me really psyched up and good to go,” he explained when pressed on it by local media.
“Especially a game like that at Loftus. It’s something I can’t explain man, it’s, ja, like I said, I really pride myself on it.
“As a front row forward the chances of me getting there were probably slim, so I kind of had to read it and see it before he saw me. So it was quite something to see.”
It was clear that Petersen didn’t see it coming. In fact, he probably has watched the replays over and over again, wondering just where Ntlabakanye came from. More than 26 000 fans at Loftus wondered themselves, although they would have enjoyed the impact as much as a try.
DESIRE FOR COLLISIONS
Ntlabakanye has a desire. More collisions. More big hits.
He knows his superpower, although the scrum lesson he gave to Simphiwe Matanzima on the same day is ample evidence of his prowess.
But he wants collisions.
“For me to really get going, obviously as a prop, I need to win the collisions to get the guys around me hyped up and myself hyped up as well. I am really more a collision guy, I pride myself on that,” he declared.
The fact that the Lions lost that derby has more motivation for Saturday’s return game in Johannesburg. Ntlabakanye knows that while the Lions were good, they were not good enough.
“Even though we were quite happy, we weren’t satisfied with our set-piece performance, it was not quite up to our standard, we felt it was an average performance,” Ntlabakanye added.
“So there are a few things we need to work on, especially in the scrums. I think when you have a team like the Bulls under pressure, you need to keep them there. A few times we let them get out of the pressure, so as a forward pack, it is something we looked at in the past two weeks and going into this game.”
Ntlabakanye believes that a better performance up front will deliver the goods, and has accepted the responsibility to do just that.
“It’s quite simple, it’s a derby game and it’s quite big for us and we know that if we don’t replicate or do better than what we did at Loftus we’re not going to come up on top,” he declared.
“I think it’s a big responsibility for the forwards but one that we’re ready to step up and accept. We’re not there yet but there’s certainly glimpses of what we’re capable of. We’re slowly building. Hopefully you can see more of those glimpses this weekend.”
And while it may be the big hits that Lions fans come to see, winning the derby against the neighbourly foes will be a bigger boost.
Although another big hit won’t hurt his cult status.