Bishops 10 gets Super opportunity
2 Dec 2011
Bishops flyhalf Tim Swiel says he’s relishing the time he’s spending with the Stormers during their Super Rugby pre-season preparations.
The 18-year-old only finished his matric exams recently, but he already has reason to celebrate as he received a call-up to train with the Stormers late last month.
Swiel has enjoyed two impressive 1st XV seasons with Bishops, scoring 509 points to write up a new school record. In 2010, he claimed 305 of those points to finish as South Africa’s top schoolboy scorer. In 2011, he grabbed the most tries for a schoolboy flyhalf (14). More highlights this year include WP U18 Craven Week selection and kicking 11 points in the SA Schools’ 21-14 win over France U18 in PE last August.
Director of coaching Rassie Erasmus is the mastermind behind the surprise call-up after monitoring Swiel’s progress.
‘At the High Performance Centre, one of the WP conditioning coaches Charl Malherbe told me that Rassie wants to me training with the senior squad. And I was more than willing to join the team,’ Swiel told keo.co.za.
‘It’s been mostly gym and conditioning work, which has been really a big step up for me, but I’m really enjoying it. The players have been really welcoming, guys like Jean de Villiers, Juan de Jongh and my gym partner Demetri Catrakilis, and I’ve learnt a lot from everyone. Coach Allister Coetzee told me to be like a sponge and suck in as much knowledge as I can.’
Coetzee’s earlier comments indicated that the idea was to just give Swiel early experience in the senior structures, but the Stormers coach didn’t rule out a chance for the young flyhalf to work his way into the squad in the near future.
‘Timo still has a long way to go but one can never be too young,’ he told reporters. ‘We will give him an opportunity in the pre-season friendlies to show what he is capable of. We did the same with a youngster like prop Steven Kitshoff last year and he came through.’
TIM SWIEL’S BISHOPS VIDEO PACKAGE:
By Gareth Duncan
19 Comments
2 Dec 2011, 11:06 am
let’s hope this kid can deliver…
looks really exciting though…
2 Dec 2011, 11:15 am
Hmmm… why is this script so familiar?
Koster ring a bel?
2 Dec 2011, 11:16 am
Must say he looks good. Seems we have some really good backline players coming through each year. Question is, do we have the bakkies botha, victor matfield, os du randt and cobus visagies coming through?
2 Dec 2011, 11:18 am
and before any stormer anti-fans say we’re clutching at straws…
you betcha we are…!!
2 Dec 2011, 11:27 am
@>^..^< katman(katman)-2: Gotta agree there with you , Koster was a phenomenal junior rugby player , I feel he failed to step up but there is still time as well , he is still very young.
On the other hand , 2 years ago I told my boet to watch out for the Lions youngster called Jaco Taute , ironically I only noticed him for his name as WP also had a centre by that name. We all know what happned to Taute so its not impossible.
talking about irony , howcome WP can play a 19 year old aussie flyhalf in Super rugby but this laaitie needs some time ? If you have it you have it.
2 Dec 2011, 11:36 am
This is what I enjoy most about rugby these days. Watching the young up and comers as they arrive on the scene.
2 Dec 2011, 11:41 am
another flyhalf?
gosh thats a lot of flyhalves…
good luck to him though.
2 Dec 2011, 11:47 am
His has everything you need to be a brilliant fullback.
With Swiel pace, step and vision make he can be a brilliant 15.
Bishops game plan is clearly designed to create space for the 10 or inside backs.
At SR level the 10 will not have all that space and time.
When you look at his highlights doesn’t remind you of Dagg and Cullen?
2 Dec 2011, 11:50 am
@>^..^< katman(katman)-2: Does the name “Pavlov’ ring a bell?
2 Dec 2011, 12:42 pm
those who had the foresight to invite swiel must be congratulated.
have seen him play on many ocassions and he is a gem.
oconnor too came in at a young age and look at his progress.
my guess is that swiel will be a phenomenal success and looking with much interest to his progress.
good luck young swiel.
2 Dec 2011, 12:52 pm
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-9: No, but Quasimodo… now that rings a bel.
2 Dec 2011, 12:52 pm
The kid looks impressive but shouldn’t be rushed. Ease him into it.
But on ve udder hand…if he has the minerals, let him play.
For every 10 youngsters given a gap there will be those who take it and those who aren’t quite there. There will be the odd Gaffie, but there will also be the odd Taute & Lambie.
2 Dec 2011, 12:53 pm
Some excellent plays on that highlights reel.
2 Dec 2011, 13:35 pm
OK..so now we have journalists acting as agents punting the ‘next big thing’ and having little videos of school kids playing rugby at age-group level..yes its the way the world is moving and professionalism..blah blah blah…still kinda makes me feel a bit sick seeing all the possibilities of exploitation here…
2 Dec 2011, 13:39 pm
@The_GENERAL(The_GENERAL)-8: I have to agree, he looks like he could be an exceptional flyhalf. He runs increadible lines and steps really well. The highlights don’t really show much in terms of distribution skills. We can’t really have a flyhalf in the S15 who runs everything…
2 Dec 2011, 13:40 pm
And in this relentless search for the next star, we are willing to ruin the lives of countless others who simply gets thrown on the rubbish heaps when they don’t quite make the grade…we seem to forget that these are kids who do not have the emotional maturity to handle failure..there is a reason we have age-groups, somehow with all this obsession of unearthing talent we have left our morals in the gutter…
2 Dec 2011, 14:06 pm
I saw him on youtube,but can he defend?
3 Dec 2011, 01:16 am
@Upho(ufo)-4:
Certainly looks exciting in a RP/Larkham kind of way and decent goal-kicking too boot… albeit these highlight clips speeded up by agents can be extremely deceiving…
16 Feb 2012, 15:41 pm
Impressive – but t one tackle in the highlights reel, does make you wonder.
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