CAPE TOWN- The first person to win consecutive Rugby World Cups is South African, and hails from Bloemfontein. It’s not a hulking loose forward, or a wing with a turn of gas.
No. The person in question, the incomparable Dr Sherylle Calder, has that rarest of human traits. She has a gift so unique that some of the most coveted teams and individual sports stars in the world hunt down her elusive services.
Dr Calder trains the human eye to see more, in such a manner that her CV reads like an all-time Supersport highlights reel.
2003 World Cup. Tick.
2007 World Cup. Tick.
Golfing Major. Tick.
On top of that, She has taken emerging stars from obscurity into exclusivity, turning them into icons and perennial challengers at their elite events.
I met Dr Calder this week, at her offices in Stellenbosch. An interview request turned into the most fascinating of walks down memory lane, from Pakistan’s cricket team, an audience with Her Majesty The Queen, to Ernie Els’ coronation at the British Open.
When pressed to explain her services, in a nutshell, Dr Calder was matter-of-fact. “I teach players how to win.”
From the outside, looking incongruously in, that almost sounds arrogant.
But her success ratio screams for itself.
When she first encountered Els, she vowed to deliver him a Major title within six months.
In golf’s rarified atmosphere, such certainties do not exist. And yet, unbelievably, six months and a single day from the moment she uttered the prophetic words, 'The Big Easy' wore a big cheesy grin, on the 18th green at Royal Lytham and St Anne’s, a gleaming Claret Jug in his giant paws.
His speech, gushing in its praise for the unassuming, but tenacious lady who gave him fresh perspective, remains one of the modern era’s most genuine moments.
Dr Calder’s gift is helping sportsmen to see more, to locate space - a priceless asset at the top end - and make the right decisions under pressure.
In the cult Hollywood film about American football, Any Given Sunday, Al Pacino’s character speaks of the inches that sportsmen need.
From way back when she was a South African hockey star, Dr Calder realised that she had more inches at her disposal than those around her.
She trains her star pupils to get , and keep, themselves in the moment, when it matters most.
I left her offices startled by the incredible tales, but also intrigued to know more.
Her current project is in keeping with her extensive volume of work.
She has helped England’s rugby side to a world record run of victories.
And yet, that isn’t even the ultimate goal. The 2019 World Cup is the agenda. Eddie Jones swears by her, just as Sir Clive Woodward did in 2003.
Those are two of the most astute rugby brains in world rugby, and they both insisted that Dr Calder had to be their GPS to success.
It makes you wonder why our own rugby side is scratching it’s collective head, when the world’s best is on our very doorstep.
It turns out that not everyone can see the blindingly obvious, even when it is right in front of them.
Jones and company won’t let Dr Calder out of sight until beyond 2019, that is for sure.
Maybe, just maybe, the Green and Gold will look into sharpening their 20/20 vision.
We’ll have to wait and see.