VIDEO: 'I predict a big future for Siya'
Siyabonga Masuku is not yet a household name in South Africa, but pundits should start taking note.
Having missed the first-round win over the Griquas last month, Masuku announced himself on the Currie Cup stage with a commanding display as the Cheetahs’ starting flyhalf in their impressive 38-25 bonus-point win over the defending champion Bulls this week.
Their respective midweek wins mean the Cheetahs and Sharks are the only unbeaten sides left in the competition, after two matches each, and in the process, they closed the gap at the top of the standings on the Bulls to just one point.
(Continue below …)
It was Masuku who pulled the strings – with veteran Springboks Ruan Pienaar and Frans Steyn on either side helping him stay calm.
He had quite a journey – born Paulpietersburg, KwaZulu-Natal, and schooled at Piet Retief High, he played 15 games for the Golden Lions, a brief stint with the Leopards and even a handful of outings for the Southern Kings.
He joined the Cheetahs last year and has quickly rose to prominence in Bloemfontein.
Having suffered from COVID earlier in the year, he did not feature in the pre-season match against Griquas or the Round One outing against the same opposition last month.
“His last game was in the Challenge series back in November,” Fourie told @rugby365com.
“He is a quality players [and] I predict a big future for Siya.”
The Cheetahs coach believe the 25-year-old is growing into a fine, allround flyhalf.
“He has a cool head on his shoulders and all the skills you want in a No.10 – can attack and defend.
“He also has a very good kicking game. Two tries were scored – one through a grubber for Rosko Specman and the other a cross-field kick to Andisa Ntsila.
“He can see space and has the skillset to execute what is in front of him.”
The Cheetahs coach also spoke about the way his depleted pack stood up to the Bulls in the set pieces.
“We are a bit thin in the tight forwards,” he said about being forced to move loose forward Aidon Davis to lock to replace the injured Rynier Bernardo.
“I am really proud of the forwards’ efforts.”
Fourie described it as a “difficult” game, a real stop-start affair with plenty of handling errors and penalties.
“It was frustrating at times,” the coach said, adding: “We made so many mistakes in the last 10 minutes [it appeared that] we tried to lose the game.
“I felt we were lucky to get away with it, that the Bulls didn’t score in the last five minutes.”
He said they will have to address the discipline issues, having conceded 14 penalties and a yellow card.
“We will have to be more clinical in the game against the Pumas,” he said of their February 19 trip to Nelspruit for their Round Four encounter.
@king365ed
@rugby365com
