Cometh the hour, cometh the man. That phrase may seem a bit dramatic when one talks about Kurt Coleman starting for Western Province against Griquas in a Currie Cup match on Saturday at Newlands. But it could be a defining moment in the flyhalf’s rugby career.
Defining in terms of his future at WP and the Stormers, because his performance on Saturday, and beyond, is likely to have an influence in terms of where he finds himself in the No10 pecking order in Super Rugby next year.
The man he will replace, Demetri Catrakilis, was the preferred flyhalf for the Stormers and WP over the last few years because of his match-winning ability with the boot. But he is leaving for France at the end of the Currie Cup campaign.
Coleman, though, is the better package, a talented player with a good all-round game. But his stint on the bench has wrecked his confidence, and he fluffed his lines on many occasions when he came on in Super Rugby, especially from the kicking tee.
Catrakilis had a big hand both the 2012 and 2014 Currie Cup victories. But the time has come took to the future. Catrakilis’ mind seems to be on the plane anyway, as he made a few uncharacteristic errors that contributed to WP’s defeats against the Blue Bulls and the Free State Cheetahs over the last two weeks.
Coleman did well to try and pull WP back within striking distance against the Cheetahs with some lovely distribution and two assured kicks out of hand and off the tee.
The kid from Knysna now needs to build on that this weekend, and at the same time spark WP’s stuttering attack, which hasn’t fired since that good start against Griquas in Kimberley in the first match of the season.
“Kurt made a difference when he came on the field. He controlled the game nicely,” WP attack coach Dawie Snyman said yesterday.
“Like any player, you need to be on the field to get confidence. Sometimes it’s difficult for the player coming off the bench, because the game has already formed or has been decided.”
Snyman agreed that Coleman’s performances over the next few weeks could have an influence on his Stormers career, especially because Director of Rugby Gert Smal is still on the look out for a new flyhalf.
“Any player who wants to play in that position will have to put his hand up and show what they can do when they get the opportunity,” Snyman said.
“The team need to play well, and we need the flyhalf to do well. Every team is reliant on them in the game. If your No10 is not making good decisions and giving you rhythm on attack, your team is going to be under pressure.”
WP’s attack has struggled to get going, due to their malfunctioning breakdown and plenty of unforced errors.
The mistakes seem to be a direct result of the players trying to grasp new coach John Dobson’s game plan, which actually gives them a lot of freedom to make their on decisions on the field ... a trend in the Southern hemisphere.
“The attack is coming along. But we need to look at out error rate, because if each individual in the team makes an error, it’s 15 errors,” Snyman said.
“We need to cut that down to get rhythm on our attack to get into the positions to execute it. We are giving the guys the freedom to make decisions and read the situation on the field.
“We are working hard in terms of the communication, there are always going to be mistakes if there’s uncertainly. But we want continue to motivate the players to believe in their abilities and decision-making.” - The Star