Aphiwe Dyantyi and Cheslin Kolbe are making a mockery of South African rugby.
The Springbok backliners scored three of the five tries in South Africa’s spectacular win in Wellington over the All Blacks last Saturday.
But for both of these guys, even playing for the Boks would have been beyond their wildest dreams, much less being try-scoring heroes to give SA a victory over New Zealand in New Zealand.
After making his debut under Rassie Erasmus against England in the June Tests, Lions speedster Dyantyi is fast becoming one of the staatmaakers after just seven games for the Green and Gold.
His two tries against the world champions on Saturday were a joy to watch, especially when he stepped inside Beauden Barrett to finish off a thrilling attack.
The 24-year-old’s performances seem to have claimed him the Bok No.11 jersey for next year’s World Cup.
But as he hurtles towards super stardom, he is taking the road less travelled.
His five tries in his short career have put him level with Cornal Hendricks, Jongi Nokwe, Gio Aplon and Deon Kayser.
While most of these backliners all share a love of the game, they were all part of the South African rugby system.
They played rugby all the way through from youth tournaments. But not Dyantyi.
He was one of those players who were deemed to small to play even at his high school, Dale College.
Even at UJ, he had turned his back on the game until he was invited to play koshuis rugby before becoming a star in the Varsity Cup and becoming a regular for the Ellis Park Super Rugby finalists.
The same can be said of Kapenaar Kolbe.
He had to bide his time at Newlands until he was basically weggegooi by the SA game and has been plying his trade in France.
Now the duo are proving themselves two of the best in their positions.
It just shows that the traditional route to a Bok capping is a joke.
Schools rugby, provincial academies, Craven Week and size discrimination play into making South African rugby predictable and coaches match-winning instincts out of players.
It’s a pity that Dyantyi and Kolbe were almost seen as last resorts to national team selectors and coaches until recently.
Coaches should be drawn to players with the ability to win matches and hone those skills with good decision-making.
Yes, it could be risky, but how do you expect to win a match without taking a risk?