Growth spurt for big Bothma
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New Sharks recruit Renaldo Bothma says his game has grown in leaps and bounds since coming under the pupilage of the Sharks and their technical director, Brendan Venter.
Bothma, who joined the Sharks in November last year after a stellar season with the Pumas in the Currie Cup, says he has developed at a rapid pace as a player since pre-season began at the Sharks mid-November.
The Sharks coaching set-up has a very different shape to the usual three-coach system that most teams adopt with Gary Gold heading up the team as Director of Rugby surrounded by a number of other men.
Brendan Venter is acting as an advisor for the season, but at present he is taking the lead in Gold's absence (while he finished his term in Japan), Currie cup coaches Brad Mcleod-Henderson (head coach), Sean Everitt (backline coach) and Paul Anthony (forwards caoch) as well as Michael Horack (defence coach) and Brad Mooar (specialist attack advisor) are all there in assistance.
"I have been enjoying it [pre-season] a lot and I have learned plenty form Brendan [Venter – Sharks Technical Director] and all of the other guys," Bothma told rugby365.
"I am growing as a player and I am looking forward to the season.
"I am feeling a lot more confident at the beginning of this season in comparison to this time last year, the time with Brendan, Brad [Mcleod-Henderson], Sean Everitt and all the guys coaching us has helped me grow.
"I have developed so much in the last couple of weeks."
Bothma puts his growth down to the Sharks multitude of coaches as well as the famed 'Venter factor'
"Brendan is leading everything at the moment until Gary [Gold] returns from Japan," he continued.
"It makes it a bit easier having all these coaches around, every coach has a role to play and it makes the job a lot easier for Brendan and especially for the players.
"There are a lot of coaches looking at everything that we are doing so we are getting a lot of personal attention in the smaller details.
"If you are doing something wrong in defence for instance, there are a number of coaches who will come up to you and explain things further after training, it makes a huge difference to have a lot of coaches like that."
Bothma is unsurprisingly looking to make an impact and to get as much game time as possible with the 2014 South African conference winners, as such he is willing to play anywhere to get on the park.
"I am quite mobile so I can play any position in the loose trio and for me, at this moment, as long as I get game time and get on the field I don't care what position I play," Bothma said
"I have enough belief in the coaches that they will put me in the right position for the benefit of the team.
"I am looking forward to the next couple of weeks and the start of the season so I can see where I am skills-wise and to see how much I have learnt in my short time with the Sharks."
Darryn Pollock
@Darrynjack365
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