Captain who gets under their skin

By WYNNE GRAY

Mention Bobby Skinstad to the rugby people in South Africa and you are guaranteed a reaction. It seems there is no middle ground. They either like or loathe the new Springbok captain.

He is either the saviour to take the side to world domination or a spoiled, over-rated, flighty player.

Even in Cape Town, his adopted city, opinion is divided over the merits of the man who has replaced Andre Vos as No 8 and captain of the Springboks for tomorrow's Tri-Nations opener.

Controversy and Skinstad have become regular companions since 1999 when then-coach Nick Mallett decided to take him to the World Cup instead of popular skipper Gary Teichmann.

It was a fateful decision, a move which split the Springboks and one which produced little evidence from Skinstad that he was any sort of superstar.

Those issues have resurfaced under new coach Harry Viljoen, who dumped Vos as skipper after two tests and installed Skinstad for the last Springbok test, against Italy.

"As my predecessor proved, it's a rocky road," Skinstad said.

"Being captain is not something I coveted, but there is extra motivation because I get to motivate other people. You give energy out and you get energy back."

Viljoen and Skinstad go back to 1997 and 1998 when they were coach and player for Western Province. Viljoen described the looseforward then as a "world-beater," but they also grew apart when the players switched their coaching allegiance to Alan Solomons.

Born in Zimbabwe, Skinstad shifted to Durban for his early rugby learning before going to Stellenbosch University in the Cape.

The 25-year-old broke into the Springboks in 1997 on their Northern Hemisphere tour. He was a success and, like Zinzan Brooke - a player Skinstad has used as a role model - he showed he could turn a game.

His late try against the Wallabies in 1998 at Ellis Park demonstrated that class, and there were expectations he would deliver a new sting to the Springboks.

But everything went pear-shaped in April 1999 when he had a car crash.

The variations on the story are many. What is known is that Skinstad went out drinking with mates after the Stormers' Super 12 game against the Crusaders. There were rumours he was kicked in the knee that evening during an argument and left. On the way home Skinstad's car lost control and crashed.

He did not think he had injured himself badly, but after he flew to Johannesburg, his knee began to play up.

Skinstad missed the Tri-Nations, showed little form when he came back, but was included in the World Cup squad.

His knee problem returned during the tournament, and he missed all of last year after an operation.

"I have learned from it," he said. "You start out with the naive exuberance of youth and that's on your side. But then the naivety starts to weigh against you if things go wrong.

"I haven't lost my enthusiasm, but I am a bit more hesitant to put everything into something unless I am sure of the people round me."

While Solomons picked him for the Stormers again this season there was resentment among the squad.

The coach talked about how the No 8 was a special player who needed encouragement and time to reproduce his best.

Some of the squad were resentful and unimpressed with his "favoured son" treatment. They might have coped with him if he had knuckled down and kept quiet.

But Skinstad is an extrovert and when he started taking over at training, the Afrikaners in the squad grew more bitter.

The polarity of opinion grew when Skinstad was included in the national training squad. It was a selection made on history and there was commiseration for Charl van Rensburg and Warren Britz.

Two second-half games against France and then the stunning announcement - Skinstad was taking over the captaincy. All the debate of 1999 returned as supporters talked of his gamebreaking skills and detractors decried his lack of hard work in the pack.

He is likened to a young Francois Pienaar, precocious and arrogant, but there is an element of jealousy involved when people discuss his flamboyant golden boy image.

He has business interests and wants to increase the profile of Springbok rugby. Ideally, he would like his side to play thrilling rugby, but knows results are paramount.

"If we can be creative with a great fan base and still be effective, then we're in utopia," he said.

"But test rugby is different to Super 12, where you get eight or nine tries a match and it's a round-robin, so if you lose

one it's okay because there's always another game.

"If we grind it out 6-5 against the All Blacks we're going to have more fans than if we score five tries and still lose."