Simelane to continue developing versatility to become a Bok

Rising star Wandisile Simelane may want to be a Springbok, but unless he gets more versatile,won’t happen while Lukhanyo Am is around.

That’s the message that Vodacom Bulls coach Jake White gave his newest signing when he arrived at Loftus Versfeld, convincing him to play in more than one position if he wanted to make it to the Springboks.

Simelane is a very gifted player, with a sidestep that can rival the best, but his time at the Emirates Lions was never a happy medium, and while he had bursts of form that caught the eye of the national selectors, the reality is that his growth suffered in certain aspects.

Simelane’s defence had come under scrutiny from the national coaches before and he has worked hard on it, but the move to Pretoria was to reignite a career that seemed to be stunted as he never seemed to get along with the Lions coaching team.

This may be a bit of conjecture, but the excuses for not playing Simelane were never convincing and the Lions never seemed to have the belief in him when he was in Johannesburg, so the move to Pretoria was not only necessary but probably good for him in the long run.

Last weekend White surprisingly chose Simelane at fullback, continuing his mantra that he wants his backline players to be versatile and play in more than one position.

This is nothing new for White, as he has played Cornal Hendricks at 12, 13 and 14, while Canan Moodie and Kurt-Lee Arendse both found their form when playing 15 rather than on the wing.

Simelane’s first outing was perhaps not as convincing but the Bulls have already signified they have a lot of patience with him and will be looking to move him into the role long term, even though his kicking game needs work.

White explained his rationale, reminding all who would listen that Am is the incumbent and isn’t likely to be moved from the Springbok squad soon as he is probably the best outside centre in the world right now.

“Wandi - I’ve known him very well, he is a Jeppe boy and is a good footballer. He got a scholarship or bursary to play professional football at Chiefs. So he has a feel for football. I chatted to him and I said you need to play more than one position - you can’t just play outside centre,” White said.

“Unfortunately for you you have Lukhanyo Am there - and he is probably the best centre in the world. And so, if you want to play at a higher level, I need you to play more than one position. I thought he was alright (against the Lions).

“For us he probably got caught out on certain things - whether it was space or whether it was what to do defensively and attacking-wise. But he will get better. He has got a feel and I rate him as a rugby player. The more he plays and the more he gets to communicate with all the guys around him, the better he is going to be.”

So expect to see Simelane in other positions than the 13 jersey that he made his name in. And if the experiment succeeds as it did with Moodie and Arendse, the Bulls would have given the national selectors more food for thought.

And Simelane a new lease on his career.