 |
| Serfontein: Highly Talented |
Young
centre Jan Serfontein is undoubtedly a very talented rugby player. Last year,
he won the IRB's Junior Player of the Year after starring in the South Africa
under 20 team that won the IRB Junior World Championship.
Prior to the start of this year's Super Rugby tournament, his potential is being talked up and some have gone as far as naming him the brightest talent in the centre position that SA has had since Danie Gerber, the great Springbok centre of the 1980s and early 1990s. That's a pretty big rap to give someone so young and also considering that over the last 10 or so years SA has had centres like Robbie Fleck, Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie.
I reckon we have to be careful in South Africa about hyping up our young players. Serfontein is still only 19 and will in all probability turn out for the Baby Boks again this year. We've also got to remember that he has minimal Currie Cup experience and hasn't got a Super Rugby game under his belt yet. Now, I am all for young talent and firmly believe in the mantra that goes "if he's good enough, he's old enough"; but we have to be responsible with our expectations. It is one thing to say a guy has talent but totally another to compare him to the greats in the infancy of his career.
We have the benefit of hindsight to point at instances of youngsters we expected so much from but didn't fulfill their potential in our eyes. In 2002, Derick Hougaard scored a record 26 points in the Blue Bulls' Currie Cup triumph that year and soon after was compared to Naas Botha. He debuted for the Boks in the 2003 Rugby World Cup against Uruguay and went on to play 7 more games in the green and gold. I would think that he is proud to have represented his country in those 8 games but at the same time i do think he would have liked to played in more games for the Boks and many of the rugby public think he could have as well. Victor Mpitsang holds the distinction of being the youngest ever South African to play in a One Day International game for the Proteas at age 18. He was compared to a young Makhaya Ntini and some said he was in fact a better prospect than theMdingi Express. He may have had the world at his feet back then, but since his debut he only played in 1 more ODI game for the Proteas. Ntini played in 101 Tests and 173 ODIs.
I don't dispute his talent and Serfontein may well prove that the hype was justified one day.
We have to manage our expectations. I don't think it is necessary to point fingers, name names and compare youngsters to the greats. I don’t think it is helpful to the athletes we compare and it doesn’t really achieve anything other than to give us something to talk about at braais, at the pub or on social networks. There's time enough for things like that when careers have been forged and when they've built their own names.
Prior to the start of this year's Super Rugby tournament, his potential is being talked up and some have gone as far as naming him the brightest talent in the centre position that SA has had since Danie Gerber, the great Springbok centre of the 1980s and early 1990s. That's a pretty big rap to give someone so young and also considering that over the last 10 or so years SA has had centres like Robbie Fleck, Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie.
I reckon we have to be careful in South Africa about hyping up our young players. Serfontein is still only 19 and will in all probability turn out for the Baby Boks again this year. We've also got to remember that he has minimal Currie Cup experience and hasn't got a Super Rugby game under his belt yet. Now, I am all for young talent and firmly believe in the mantra that goes "if he's good enough, he's old enough"; but we have to be responsible with our expectations. It is one thing to say a guy has talent but totally another to compare him to the greats in the infancy of his career.
We have the benefit of hindsight to point at instances of youngsters we expected so much from but didn't fulfill their potential in our eyes. In 2002, Derick Hougaard scored a record 26 points in the Blue Bulls' Currie Cup triumph that year and soon after was compared to Naas Botha. He debuted for the Boks in the 2003 Rugby World Cup against Uruguay and went on to play 7 more games in the green and gold. I would think that he is proud to have represented his country in those 8 games but at the same time i do think he would have liked to played in more games for the Boks and many of the rugby public think he could have as well. Victor Mpitsang holds the distinction of being the youngest ever South African to play in a One Day International game for the Proteas at age 18. He was compared to a young Makhaya Ntini and some said he was in fact a better prospect than theMdingi Express. He may have had the world at his feet back then, but since his debut he only played in 1 more ODI game for the Proteas. Ntini played in 101 Tests and 173 ODIs.
I don't dispute his talent and Serfontein may well prove that the hype was justified one day.
We have to manage our expectations. I don't think it is necessary to point fingers, name names and compare youngsters to the greats. I don’t think it is helpful to the athletes we compare and it doesn’t really achieve anything other than to give us something to talk about at braais, at the pub or on social networks. There's time enough for things like that when careers have been forged and when they've built their own names.
No comments:
Post a Comment