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
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28 Oct 2010, 14:44 pm
@Dawn(Dawn) :
he will however recieve a cultural education.
I like to think he will be a better man for it.
28 Oct 2010, 14:46 pm
@Dusky(Dusky) :
porrathefat
what
let me
tell you
porrathefat
and clever
speedster
thats
what
28 Oct 2010, 14:46 pm
@XhosaKid(XhosaKid) :
I love how his housemate “helped” him by escaping out the window to fetch the police.
28 Oct 2010, 14:47 pm
@XhosaKid(XhosaKid) : I bet they don’t know who both Ferrari’s drivers are nor do they know who any player other than Wayne Wooney is
28 Oct 2010, 14:47 pm
@gunther(gunther) :
receive… crikey i appear to have catched mighties affliction
28 Oct 2010, 14:47 pm
@XhosaKid(XhosaKid) : hey don’t make fun of Mitch, those ******** scared him!
28 Oct 2010, 14:49 pm
no
self respecting
bulls fan
drink
or eat
anything
light
we go for
meat
with fat
and brandy
and
pure bred
real mccoy
coke
28 Oct 2010, 14:50 pm
@gunther(gunther) :
My mouth is watering now at the thought…fry some onion and garlic and sliced chestnut mushrooms until softened and browned, stir in arborio rice – chuck in some white wine, simmer, then some vegetable stock, let it simmer until it’s all been absorbed – repeat until the rice is plump and tender…then stir in soaked porcini mushrooms with parsley, butter, salt and pepper…serve it with some grated Parmesan.
Yum!
28 Oct 2010, 14:55 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever) :
in our family only the men make it.
we use chicken stock and brown mushrooms.
the secret is to let the wine boil away before adding the stock.
and then wait a little bit. it gives you that nutty flavour.
the italians call it the “temptation”.
In Italian obviously.
28 Oct 2010, 14:59 pm
@gunther(gunther) :
Correct – the wine does need to simmer away first.
Interesting that you use chicken stock instead of vegetable stock? I’ll try that variation.
28 Oct 2010, 15:00 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever) :
better flavour.
don’t be tempted to use beef its too much.
28 Oct 2010, 15:03 pm
@gunther(gunther) :
The meek shall not inherit the earth – even former all black coaches
Ben Trovato
‘FORMER All Blacks coach thankful over
stabbing.” This is what the pestilential
counter-revolutionary press sprang on me
while I was minding my own business
drinking breakfast earlier in the week.
I knew there was something wrong with
the headline, but it took until the fourth
Bloody Mary to work it out. New Zealanders
are never grateful for anything other than a
win over the Springboks. And maybe two
consecutive days of sunshine. And not
being mistaken for Australians.
South Africans emigrate to New Zealand. It’s
what they do now that Australia is full. New
Zealanders, on the other hand, do not
emigrate to South Africa. It would be like
moving from Singapore to Kampala to get
away from the filth and chaos.
John Mitchell, however, is a rare breed. The
ex-All Black flanker did the unthinkable and
took up a contract to coach the Lions rugby
team in Joburg.
I freshened up my Bloody Mary and read
the story. It turned out that Mitchell wasn’t
particularly thankful for being stabbed by
housebreakers. He was, however, thankful
that the knife had missed the artery in his
leg. Which is not the same thing at all.
Depraved sensationalist media swine.
Forget the tribunal. On the first Saturday of
every month, wheel a huge chrome
guillotine into Sandton Square and start
chopping off their lurid little heads. If it’s
melodrama they’re after, we’ll give them
melodrama.
Mitchell is not a small man. With a shaven
head, he is even more terrifying. I’d have
second thoughts about going at him with a
chainsaw while he was unconscious, let
alone lunge at him with a rusty Okapi while
he’s still awake.
He said afterwards: “It’s not nice waking up
and having to defend your life.” I imagine
it’s not. I find the mere act of waking up
traumatic enough. There was one time I
woke up and had to defend myself against
Brenda, which wasn’t easy, considering that
I was in the flower bed and inexplicably
lame from the hips down.
Mitchell went for trauma counselling. After
waiting in a queue of 50000 other shocked
people, he was issued with a government-
approved look of sympathy, a standard
non-threatening pat on the back and a
disconnected phone number to call should
he need more help.
At a conservative guess, I would say that, at
any given time, at least half the population
is suffering from post-traumatic stress
disorder. In this country, it’s not even
recognised as a disorder. If anything, it’s
considered a minor inconvenience.
Can’t stop weeping and trembling? Here,
have an aspirin. Nightmares? Blackouts?
Emotionally numb? Rub a little vaseline on
your temples. Got your eye poked out with
a screwdriver? Had boiling oil poured down
your ears? Mix up a glass of sugar water
and you’ll be right as rain. Come on, now.
No shirking. Back to work you go.
Although he hasn’t been asked, Mitchell
doesn’t strike me as being the kind of
person who would say of his attackers: “I
forgive them and feel no hatred in my
heart.”
I do not understand people who say
this sort of thing after having their hair set
alight and their faces ironed. J-esus was big
on absolution and look what happened to
him. Pardon my French, but the meek shall
not inherit the earth. They shall continue to
be stomped on and ripped off.
As for Mitchell, well, he says he needs to find
closure and move on with his life. No, John.
Forget about finding closure. What you
need to do is find those red-eyed savages.
You need to find them and tear their balls
off. It worked for Charles Bronson in Death
Wish and it can work for you.
I’ve got your back.
28 Oct 2010, 15:07 pm
@Transformation(Transformation) :
that guy is funny…
28 Oct 2010, 15:16 pm
@Tacitus(Tacitus) :
I think that that fok-fok probably needed an excuse to eat the hind legs of the dog.
And dogs DO have souls. I think it’s perhaps a question of whether they have spirits, you mean?
28 Oct 2010, 15:21 pm
@Tacitus(Tacitus) :
There’s also a Zulu tradition that made news end of last year, where the “men” undergo there little rite of manhood and kill a bull with their bare hands…nothing more.
So gouging its eyes out with their fingers, biting its tongue off, twisting it legs till they break, pulling the ***** till they find a rupture to tear along the belly, and disembowel the still breathing creature etc.
28 Oct 2010, 15:23 pm
@gunther(gunther) :
28 Oct 2010, 15:25 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis) :
them zulus don’t mess about.
no sooner have you killed a bull with your bare hands.
then some near-sighted elder attacks your todger with a rusty pair of garden shears.
its a shame they didn’t do a better job on el presidente.
28 Oct 2010, 15:30 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis) : do not mislead the public! That ritual has nothing to do passage to manhood!
A bull is killed during Ukweshwama as a
symbolic way of thanking God for the first
crops of the season.
28 Oct 2010, 15:32 pm
@gunther(gunther) :
28 Oct 2010, 15:34 pm
@Transformation(Transformation) :
Oh, sorry for “misleading the public”.
Now that I feel the weight and pressure of public scrutiny on my shoulders, let me just say that if any fok-fok ever harmed one of my ridgebacks I would either be in jail or Mexico tomorrow.
BTW, what god is that?
28 Oct 2010, 15:36 pm
@gunther(gunther) :
Well for once I actually did laugh out loud. GAve me cramps in my cheeks now, since I haven’t had anything to laugh about recently.
(BTW, not my butt-cheeks, and no that’s not why I haven’t had anything to smile about recently…)
28 Oct 2010, 15:39 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis) :
I know… its the bulls.
hang tough man.
28 Oct 2010, 15:39 pm
@Transformation(Transformation) :
Yes, it’s the “First Fruits Festival” – subjects of the Zulu king ar not are not permitted to eat from the crops without first offering them to the king. In essence, the king must eat first before the nation can eat. In a form of microcosm of this, in households the elders will eat first.
The killing of the bull is but one aspect of the festival. Killing the bull with the bare hands was considered to test the courage and bravery of the amabutho.
28 Oct 2010, 15:40 pm
@Transformation(Transformation) : @ 318
oh well, that makes it acceptable then.
28 Oct 2010, 15:42 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis) : blah blah blah *yawn*
28 Oct 2010, 15:44 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever) : op die kop…
28 Oct 2010, 15:44 pm
@gunther(gunther) :
No, not that…
We should these Ukweshwamas to along with the commonwealth team, so that they can share their cow-killing “culture” with the indians….
28 Oct 2010, 15:45 pm
@the peanut gallery(peanut) : acceptable to who? Who should be pleased before it happens?
28 Oct 2010, 15:47 pm
One thing I picked up when spending time in the Midlands (my uncle and cousins lived in Bergville) is that the Zulus dearly love their cattle.
They will weep for a head of cattle that has suddenly died almost like they would weep for a lost child.
28 Oct 2010, 15:48 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis) :
What about bullfighting in Spain? Are you opposed to that, too?
How about veal and foie gras?
28 Oct 2010, 15:49 pm
oh well.
live and let live I say.
as long as it’s not a blue bull.
on the subject of livestock:
A priest kept chickens at his village
parish and one evening the cockerel went
missing. At mass the priest asked
“Who has a ****?” All the men got up.
“No, I meant who has seen a ****”
All the women stood up.
“No, no, who has seen a **** that
isn’t theirs?” – Half the women got up.
“Oh for goodness sake” said the priest.
“Who has seen my ****?”
All the choir boys got up.
28 Oct 2010, 15:50 pm
Ben Travato is a fking ***.
Have you ever seen the guy being interviewed?
He has the voice of a 13 year old girl and never lets the camera show his face.
How ridiculous is that?! Its like he thinks he’s important and contraversial enough that people might actually put a hit out on him.
***!
28 Oct 2010, 15:50 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever) :
Actually everytime I type “Bulls” into Google to access the bulls’ website, and see this image come up:
bp1.blogger.com/_9HlvkU1dLCE/SHJPxx2GuqI/AAAAAAAAAxE/qdyyyo-SNZk/s1600-h/RunningBulls.jpg
I always feel joyous emotion.
28 Oct 2010, 15:52 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever) :
I’m in favour of all of the above that’s why I say live and let live.
I believe they are producing ethical foie gras in Spain now.
and of course in the south of france they have bullfights where the bull is not harmed.
different strokes.
28 Oct 2010, 15:52 pm
@Transformation(Transformation) : let’s just say it’s the 21st century. what was acceptable 200 years ago doesn’t belong in 2010.
28 Oct 2010, 15:55 pm
@gunther(gunther) :
Aggenee!
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever) :
Ja look, I grew up slaughtering cattle OK? I know abattoirs are far from ideal, but it’s pretty humane compared to what’s discussed here.
I too realized for myself that these certain cultures don’t have an appreciation for live like I would expect.
I remeber things like they would always hit the horses in the face with a shortened “piksteel”, or not give the lambs their shots when we cut the tails off, or even heating the guillotine up properly, instead just pulling the tail off. I’ve seen enough, thank you.
28 Oct 2010, 15:55 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis) :
I’m struggling to discern whether or not he got the sack…
28 Oct 2010, 15:56 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis) :
I agree. One reason I don’t hunt anymore.
I’ll only hunt if I’m starving and actually need the food.
28 Oct 2010, 15:56 pm
live=life
28 Oct 2010, 15:59 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever) :
or if woolworths is closed.
personally I only hunt meerkat.
especially after a few beers.
28 Oct 2010, 16:00 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever) :
Ja boet, people only started eating from Genesis 9:3 and onwards. People weren’t designed to eat meat. We lost half our diet in the Flood.
But believe what ever you want, people throught he ages have always had an appreciation for life, and people from all cultures are sensitive to this issue, but as a whole…..ja.
28 Oct 2010, 16:00 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis) : 341
eating meat that is
28 Oct 2010, 16:02 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever) :
I don’t think twice about culling herbivores (hunting) or so, but it’s quick.
28 Oct 2010, 16:03 pm
@the peanut gallery(peanut) : Like burnings at the stake…
28 Oct 2010, 16:05 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis) :
Just wait until Skopskiet sees this thread, we’ll have mini-thesis posts explaining the barbarity of an omnivore diet and why it is vital that we all become vegetarians.
28 Oct 2010, 16:08 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever) :
God Himself said I can has cheezburger. So I don’t care
28 Oct 2010, 16:09 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever) :
That being said, a lot of the arguments for vegetarianism make sense. For one, the impact on earth by the massive earth population eating beef (requiring massive inputs of water and food, and resulting in significant amounts of greenhouse gas production) is immense.
That being said, I can’t give up meat.
Personally, I just wish our population (the entire earth) was a tenth of what it is…
28 Oct 2010, 16:11 pm
@Frankly speaking(Frankly speaking) : exactly. slavery, capital punishment, etc. you catch my drift.
28 Oct 2010, 16:11 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever) : 347
…So does the Illuminati. Brother.
28 Oct 2010, 16:13 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever) : the massive impact of the earth’s population, no matter what they eat. you think grain and veggies require no water. if people stop eating meat they’ll have to replace it with something.
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