The best of Chiliboy is yet to come

by Mawande.

If there is only one athlete that I want to have a tremendous year on the playing field it has to be Chiliboy Ralepelle.  If the world doesn’t end in 2012, what most probably will expire is any inkling of distinction that old Chiliboy’s career may have had if he doesn’t fulfill his potential on the field of play.

Chiliboy became the youngest man ever to captain the Springboks in 2006 when he led the side against a World XV team and early in his career was touted as a future Springbok captain, but to date we haven’t seen enough to support the early hype around him. Since his Bok debut in 2006, he has earned 20 more national team caps, 18 of which have been off the bench, granted, the incumbent in the hooker position was Springbok captain John Smit.

Chiliboy is due a big season.

It does warrant saying though that Chiliboy has never been given an extended run in any of teams he has played in. I feel that most of the coaches he has played for have also stunted his growth as a player somewhat. Springbok coaches picked him to sit on the bench a lot having already sat on the bench a lot at the Bulls, whilst Bismarck du Plessis was logging hours of game time at the Sharks. But with Derrick Kuun having retired from rugby and Gary Botha moving to France, one would suppose that Chiliboy would make the Bulls No. 2 jersey his own this season and scrap it out with du Plessis for John Smit’s old jersey.

I don’t think for a second that any of us have seen the best of Chiliboy but I firmly believe that 2012 is the year that he will set the rugby world on fire. Being the first choice hooker at the Bulls will do him a world of good and if he can stay fit for the entire season, I wouldn’t bet against him being one of the stand out players for both the Bulls and the Springboks.