Something special
28 Oct 2010
MIKE GREENAWAY, writing in SA Rugby magazine, says Patrick Lambie is the future of South African rugby.
In the midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, the mink and manure belt of the Garden Province, the favourite sport of Hilton College old boys is to ask their bitter rivals from Michaelhouse how many Springbok rugby players they have produced.
The Balgowan school has spawned war heroes (the flag flown at World War I’s bloody battle of Delville Wood is proudly displayed in one of the eating establishments), politicians, prestigious authors, captains of industry, national cricketers, swimmers and athletes … even Spud Milton (of the John van der Ruit books) went to the stately school modelled so closely on the posh English public schools, but so far the eight rugby fields on the sprawling estate have yet to produce a rugby Springbok.
Perhaps the most genuine indication that the school might at last break its unfortunate duck came in Patrick Lambie’s Grade 11 year. The flyhalf had missed his U16 season because of a serious injury and when he pitched up for training the next year, the flyhalf berth was already secured by the older Guy Cronjé, who was partnered at scrumhalf by his twin brother, Ross (both of whom have gone on to play for the Sharks).
So the coaches asked Pat if he wanted to try fullback. How did he react to changing positions after not having played rugby for a year? By the end of the season he was picked at fullback for SA Schools.
The following year, his matric year, he was in the SA Schools No 15 jersey once more. In fact, he also played KZN Schools rugby and cricket two years in a row, and that elite club can’t have too many members …
As Sharks captain Stefan Terblanche puts it, rather amusingly: ‘The next Michaelhouse old boy who asks me if Pat is going to be their first Springbok, I might have to shoot! But having said that, if he’s not their first Bok, then they will have to wait another 100 years …’
Towards the end of his first year out of school, Lambie made his debut for the Sharks – a 20-minute stint off the bench in a Currie Cup match – and was then drafted into the Super 14 training squad. Midway through the Sharks’ troubled Super 14 tour earlier this year he made his run-on debut.
Lambie took time out from the Sharks to play fullback for the SA U21 team in Argentina and was one of the stand-out performers at the international tournament, finishing up as the second highest points scorer.
He has been a fixture in the Sharks team ever since the Super 14 tour and the only debate around his continued inclusion has been where best to utilise his talent – fullback, centre or flyhalf.
And this, of course, has brought up the old chestnut of whether the Sharks are going to do a ‘Brent Russell’ and produce another ‘Jack of all trades and master of none’, as has allegedly been the story with Frans Steyn and Ruan Pienaar (although this was more the case at Springbok level).
The good news for South African rugby is that young Lambie is being carefully managed by the ever-cautious John Plumtree.
‘There has been good communication between all relevant parties from the word go and that is very important because wherever Patrick plays, he must be positive about it,’ the Sharks coach says. ‘He is still at the stage of his career where he is enjoying the experience simply of playing at this level. Moving from 15, which he knows well, to 12 and then to 10 has been good for him because it has exposed a few minor weaknesses in his game that he otherwise might not have known about. When the novelty wears off and he wants to settle into a position, we will talk about it.’
Interestingly, Lambie says an inspiration for him at school was Steyn and the impact he made first with the Sharks and then with the Springboks at fullback, flyhalf and centre.
‘I looked up to Frans because he gave us schoolboys hope that we could get a break sooner rather than later and excel at the highest level,’ Lambie says.
The softly-spoken youngster conducts himself in interviews with unfailing politeness and good manners. He is as humble and charming a young man as you could possibly chance to meet. But what are his thoughts on the position he would most like to play?
‘I’ve enjoyed 15, 12 and 10 and I don’t yet know which one I’m best at or which one I enjoy the most. But with a bit more time and experience I’ll be able to decide on a position, put my mind to it and stay there,’ he says.‘At fullback I have always enjoyed taking the high ball – even though I’m not the tallest, I like that bit of pressure – and then also the space you have at the back to read the game.
‘At flyhalf, I like being close to the ball and getting my hands on it as much as possible, as well as being able to make decisions and link with the players around me. The same goes for 12, which also has the added attraction of being a major avenue of attack for the opposition, and I’m happy with that because I enjoy tackling.’
The impressive thing about Lambie’s progression from 15 to 12 and then to 10 is that he has got increasingly better the closer he has got to the ball. He was excellent at fullback and when he was moved to 12 questions were asked about the wisdom of the move, but he responded superbly there, and when he was moved to 10 he again met and then surpassed the challenge.
‘I have honestly enjoyed all three positions,’ he says, ‘and maybe it helped that I played 12 after fullback before moving to 10, but the most important thing is that I’ve played a sequence of games in each position. I haven’t played one game here, one game there, and then gone back to the previous position.’
An avid admirer of Lambie is former Springbok and Maritzburg College flyhalf Joel Stransky, and he feels that consultation with experts in the three positions Lambie has played will help make the decision on where he should ultimately settle.
‘First of all, I’d like to say that I’ve enjoyed watching Patrick play, and what has stood out for me is that old indication of how good a player is – the time he seems to have to make decisions that other players don’t,’ Stransky says. ‘He never gets flustered, he never panics. There’s no hint of alarm about his play. He has brilliant skills, a kicking game, tackles very well and, most importantly, he has a wonderful temperament.’
But Stransky suggests that Plumtree sits down with a fullback specialist such as André Joubert, a renowned centre like Dick Muir and a flyhalf of the calibre of Henry Honiball and ask them for an analysis of where Lambie’s skills set is best suited.
‘Sometimes where the player feels he should play and where he’s best suited are not the same,’ Stransky advises. ‘I’ve seen that with Frans Steyn. He wanted to play 10, then 15, but maybe 12 is his best position?’
But where does Stransky feel Lambie should play? ‘The more I think about it, the more I feel that a kid with his talent has to be as close to the ball as possible. I’d play him at flyhalf.’
And is Lambie ready to tour with the Springboks in November? Stransky certainly believes so but Plumtree would prefer the youngster’s Springbok debut to wait a while.
Stransky says: ‘Good enough is old enough. We have a major issue in this country at Springbok level right now and we need youngsters to come through fast and learn the ropes.’
Plumtree is not so sure: ‘Look, he’s unquestionably an international class player. He’s a natural, he’s a very calm young man with an old head on a young body. To be straightforward, he’s a bloody good kid, and is an absolute pleasure to have in your squad.
‘Personally, I don’t think it’s necessary for him to tour in November. A good Super Rugby campaign will grow his confidence, while this end-of-year tour might not be the happiest and I’d hate to see him take a knock. But if they decide to take half a dozen youngsters and he’s one of them, then good on him.’
The theme of Lambie being cool, calm and collected is a recurring one, going way back to his primary school days. His class teacher and sports coach at Clifton school in Durban, Barry Mezher, says he was a gifted sportsman and natural leader to whom his peers naturally gravitated.
‘It stood out for me that at such a young age here was a kid who always put the needs of his team-mates above his own, led by example and deflected attention and praise to others,’ Mezher says. ‘He was empathetic to his peers and could be innovative in finding ways to get the best out of them.’
Mezher adds that Lambie was also an exceptional cricketer: ‘He had the sweetest of timing as a batsman and as a bowler had the discipline and calmness to bowl line-and-length deliveries that irritated batsmen into submission with his accuracy.’
At Michaelhouse, his school masters soon picked up that the best asset of this brilliant sportsman – he was also a very good swimmer – was his temperament. He never got flustered and the bigger the occasion, the better he reacted to pressure.
Alan Redfern, Lambie’s housemaster, says that perhaps the best way to sum him up is to point out how his peers responded to him.
‘When he was announced as head boy he was the unanimous choice by pupils and staff and was given a spontaneous standing ovation, which is rare.’
At the conclusion of his matric year, Redfern says that Lambie had ‘set a new benchmark for the role of head prefect’.
He was involved positively in a number of cultural and social activities at the school. As well as being a chapel server and senior member of the school’s Christian Representative Council, he was the chairman of the Toastmasters Society and served on the school’s Student Representative Council.
Redfern says Lambie was always ‘quietly at the forefront’, avoiding the limelight where possible but when in it, conducting himself with humility.
The balance between sport and academics has continued after school. Lambie is currently in his second year of a BA degree through Unisa, specialising in environmental management. He says it involves his favourite subjects, geography and economics, and it could qualify him one day to be involved in a passion of his: animals and conservation.
In the meantime, Patrick Lambie is living his dream. It is not that long ago that he was one of the barefoot kids running around the Kings Park outer fields playing touch rugby while his parents braaied.
The Lambie family are true Sharks fans, always have been, going back to the early-80s when dad Ian was a stalwart for Berea Rovers and played a handful of games for Natal before a serious knee injury ended his career, while Pat’s grandfather, Nick Labuschagne (Caz Lambie’s dad) is a former president of the Natal Rugby Union and was intricately involved in the administration of the 1995 World Cup. He also played 50-odd games for Natal and five for England. So the game is very much in Pat’s genes.
‘The rugby background in our family helped me make the decision on whether to choose cricket or rugby as my career,’ he says. ‘It ended up being quite easy, really. I love cricket but rugby is my passion.’
– This article first appeared in the October issue of SA Rugby magazine. The November issue is on sale now.
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523 Comments
Pages: « 1 2 3 4 [5] 6 7 8 9 10 11 » Show All
28 Oct 2010, 13:12 pm
197 @WP Till I Die(WP-Forever) : tell him…
28 Oct 2010, 13:13 pm
@stormersboy(stormersboy) :
Yeah you are too young!
Dusky and her have a lot in common! She was known to have shot the Sheriff, but no-one actually knows if it really happened.
28 Oct 2010, 13:14 pm
@Dusky(Dusky) :
according to xhosanostra blacks only say they support the bulls to suck up to their white bosses
have you told him you are a sharks supporter?
maybe he will start saying nice things about Patrick Lambie instead of raving over Frankie Hougaard.
28 Oct 2010, 13:14 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever) :
Yeah legends I say! I miss them too! Only the oldies would know, wouldn’t they! Makes me feel young!
28 Oct 2010, 13:16 pm
@Transformation(Transformation) :
what’s the story with black people and mayonnaise?
or is it an urban myth.
I mean look at Oprah..
she is clearly a fan.
28 Oct 2010, 13:17 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever) :
Ethel popped on the other day! I asked her about Harry and she said he went for a walk up the coast and didn’t return. Sad story that! She did sent her regards though.
28 Oct 2010, 13:18 pm
send…
28 Oct 2010, 13:19 pm
Oh my word I am sick and f*#king tired of all this Lmabie hype. He’s not a bad player but he’s not some rugby super God like everyone makes him out to me.
Please guys, he is not SA Rugbys Messiah. He is not our lord and our saviour. Mike Greenaway and Ryan Vrede please stop sucking Pat Lambies d*#k and start writing some actual journalism
28 Oct 2010, 13:22 pm
@gunther(gunther) :
oprah
eats
anything
that does
or doesn’t
move
once
while
binge eating
she even
ate her
hair straightener
28 Oct 2010, 13:25 pm
porrathefatperiperichicken…
is that why the audience sits so far away?
28 Oct 2010, 13:28 pm
@gunther(gunther) :
she’ll
probably
gobble
a few
of them
if she has
the chance
28 Oct 2010, 13:28 pm
porrathefatperiperichicken
porrathefatsnoekparcel
28 Oct 2010, 13:32 pm
@Frankly speaking(Frankly speaking) : I think they will return when the siren goes again at 2pm.
28 Oct 2010, 13:33 pm
@Mighty Horua(Mighty Horua) :
youmase
poos
i mean
noonoos
28 Oct 2010, 13:34 pm
28 Oct 2010, 13:35 pm
Good grief I’m hungry.
28 Oct 2010, 13:35 pm
@Mighty Horua(Mighty Horua) : From the porra’s I know…
porrathefatmommiesboy
porrathefatsupedup1985model3seriesBMWdriver
porrathefathairyunderarmpit
28 Oct 2010, 13:36 pm
@Dusky(Dusky) :
you’ll never go wrong with a Zulu gardner, they’re loyal…
@Transformation(Transformation) :
He supports the Bulls coz they’re winners… If you don’t know anything about a particular sport inveriably you inclined to support they team that always wins, i.e. Bulls. Same reason why most English soccer fans that don’t know anything about football support Man. United.
28 Oct 2010, 13:36 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever) :
Don’t you miss me too?
28 Oct 2010, 13:37 pm
@Porra the Fat and Clever Speedster(Porra) : It’s a good think Oprah isn’t coming to the final on Saturday, or she would eat the 30 best rugby players in South Africa.
28 Oct 2010, 13:38 pm
What’s the weather forecast for Saturday?
28 Oct 2010, 13:40 pm
@Bill Reyts(Gumboots) : I’m actually confused now. Did she shoot J.R. too?
28 Oct 2010, 13:40 pm
@Dawn(Dawn) :
Why you also looking for your prins – or is it prince?
28 Oct 2010, 13:41 pm
@Dusky(Dusky) :
mommiesboy
only
because
mommy is
tougher
as for
the suped
bee ems
the charas
are the
kings
now
armpits
its a sign
of femininity
so us men
we shave
now
don’t
let me
bring over
my extended
family
and sort you
out
once and
for all
28 Oct 2010, 13:41 pm
@Porra the Fat and Clever Speedster(Porra) :
she gobbles?
well she can be all bad then
28 Oct 2010, 13:41 pm
@Dusky(Dusky) :
porrathefatwannabeganster
28 Oct 2010, 13:43 pm
@stormersboy(stormersboy) :
No wrong person! She had a crush on the Sheriff! Rumour has it that she shot him, but we are not that sure. Hear very little about it! They were last seen walking along the beach! That was some time ago though!
28 Oct 2010, 13:43 pm
@Bill Reyts(Gumboots) : Durban ? 28 Degrees, partly cloudy, 0% chance of rain.
Humidity guaranteed !
This is one of those warm, partly cloudy Durban days that when us people from Gauteng fly down and the plane door opens, it almost takes your breath away the air is so thick and hot.
It’s gonna be a cracker. At least it is at 5pm when things will be a bit cooler.
28 Oct 2010, 13:44 pm
@Dawn(Dawn) :
We need to organise a reunion of the Firm!
28 Oct 2010, 13:46 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever) :
At Fireman’s! Yeah a good idea.
28 Oct 2010, 13:46 pm
@Mighty Horua(Mighty Horua) :
porrathefatperiperigreaseball
28 Oct 2010, 13:46 pm
@Bill Reyts(Gumboots) :
Listen boet.
Stop talking about me like I ain’t here.
28 Oct 2010, 13:47 pm
@Mighty Horua(Mighty Horua) :
porrathefatfishandchipsshopowner
28 Oct 2010, 13:48 pm
@Dawn(Dawn) :
Have we met?
28 Oct 2010, 13:48 pm
@Bill Reyts(Gumboots) : Please explain. Are we referring to a Character in a movie or Tv show?
28 Oct 2010, 13:49 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever) :
Finally.
I will endeavour to make it so.
28 Oct 2010, 13:49 pm
@Dusky(Dusky) :
Thanks Dusky! Is that from Dusky to Dawny that weather forecast or only for the game?
28 Oct 2010, 13:49 pm
porrathefatrussianandchipscombo
28 Oct 2010, 13:51 pm
why have the porras never won the world cup?
every time they get a corner they open a fish ‘n chip shop.
28 Oct 2010, 13:51 pm
@stormersboy(stormersboy) :
Yes she is legend mate! Don’t think she starred in a movie, but I may be wrong.
28 Oct 2010, 13:52 pm
@Mighty Horua(Mighty Horua) :
porrathefatdonutfilledwithapricotjam
porrathefatfreeflowexhaust
28 Oct 2010, 13:52 pm
@Bill Reyts(Gumboots) : You know this is going to bother me now…
Give a province supporter a clue!
28 Oct 2010, 13:53 pm
My hot chips have arrived.
28 Oct 2010, 13:53 pm
@the peanut gallery(peanut) : Why does a porra groom cover himself with apricot jam ?
To keep the flies off the bride.
28 Oct 2010, 13:53 pm
@the peanut gallery(peanut) :
28 Oct 2010, 13:54 pm
@gunther(gunther) : i see you’re still fanatisizing about oprah.
28 Oct 2010, 13:54 pm
@stormersboy(stormersboy) :
You’ve had your chips mate! If you don’t arrive on time she will eat you for sure!
28 Oct 2010, 13:56 pm
porrathefatnandoschicken
28 Oct 2010, 13:57 pm
@Dusky(Dusky) :
28 Oct 2010, 13:58 pm
@stormersboy(stormersboy) :
How long have you been part of the Kingdom mate? It may be before your time though! Are you good mates with Katman?
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