Lion cub keen to leave his mark
Caylib Rees Oosthuizen may be a Lion cub in rugby parlance, but in a season where many young guns are stepping up he is already far more than just the new kid on the block.
Oosthuizen, who showed plenty of early promise when he represented South Africa at the 2009 IRB Junior Championship, got his Super Rugby break courtesy of what Lions coach John Mitchell described as “the worst injury crisis” he has ever experienced in his coaching career.
The Lions were hit by injuries early on in the season – losing props, centres, a hooker, a lock, a flank, a scrumhalf and a wing in the first five weeks of the competition.
But it is at prop where the absence of two seasoned front row forwards – CJ van der Linde, a member of the 2007 World Cup-wining Springbok team, (out with groin and back problems) and JC Janse van Rensburg (toe ligament injury) – has opened the door for the emergence of another very talented youngster to step into the fray.
The 22-year-old Lions newcomer, Oosthuizen, has made a the step up from Varsity Cup to Super Rugby with almost consummate ease.
It suggests those who predicted that he will one day wear the Green and Gold of South Africa in the Test area, may not have been that far off the mark.
The unassuming Oosthuizen suggested his entry into a competition regarded as just a small step down from the international stage, was not a smooth as it may seem to outsiders.
“It is a big step up … a lot faster and a lot tougher,” the University of Johannesburg front row forward told this website in an exclusive interview.
Despite the obvious negatives – the Lions have won just one game from four starts – Oosthuizen said he is really enjoying Super Rugby.
“I hope to play plenty more games, but at the moment I am just really enjoying. I got an opportunity … it is fortunate [for me] and a couple of players were injured. I am trying to make the best of this chance and trying to contribute to the team’s success.”
The modest young prop credits most of his early success to the hard work of the Lions’ coaching staff – which counts include two Springboks and a World Cup winner.
Former Springbok lock Johan Ackermann and 1995 World Cup-winning prop Balie Swart are the men showing the Lions’ forwards the ropes.
“Coach Ackers is a great help,” Oosthuizen told this website, adding: “He is always there to lend a hand and obviously he has a lot of experience.
“He [Ackermann] is a coach that places emphasis on the finer details and the small things. Obviously it all leads to a bigger picture, but he pays attention to detail and has been a great help.”
Asked about his scrumming, which has already seen him emerge with credit from an encounter with Bok incumbent tighthead prop Jannie du Plessis, Oosthuizen put it down to the tutelage of the 1995 World Cup-winner, Swart.
“Balie [Swart] is a good man, and he has taught me a lot already. I first came across Balie about three years ago at the South African Under-20 trials [for the team that went to the IRB Junior World Championships in 2009]. He also has a lot of experience, so I have just been try absorb everything from coach Ackers and coach Balie.”
Oosthuizen, on his Lions profile, list among his personal goals: ‘To earn 100 Super Rugby and Currie Cup caps and to earn at least 50 Springbok caps.’
While that first Bok senior cap may be a year or two down the line, the young Lion is not going to give up on that dream anytime soon.
“Everybody want to play Super Rugby and want to play for the Springboks,” he told this website, adding: “I am just enjoying the moment … God has blessed me with this opportunity to play Super Rugby, so I am just enjoying it to the fullest.”
Giving credit to others does not stop with his coaches.
“I have [senior] players like CJ van der Linde, JC Janse van Rensburg and Pat Cilliers that I can rely on for knowledge. They have been a great help to me as I try to get into Super Rugby.
“It is a great learning experience when you are surrounded by players with so much experience you can just absorb. JC [Janse van Rensburg] and CJ [van der Linde] have been playing for years – it is incredible seeing how they operate.”
Although Oosthuizen has been part of the Lions set-up for several years, he has his roots in the Cape.
Born in Cape Town, he matriculated at Oudtshoorn High School in 2007 and played Crane Week that year for SWD.
That is where he was spotted by the talents scouts.
“The Lions made me an offer … so I have been with the Lions since I was Under-19 – this is now my fifth year at the Lions,” he said with pride.
By Jan de Koning
