Fudge becoming 'streetwise' at Bulls
Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:40
Rising start: Bulls rookie Mthunzi Karl Mabeta
Mthunzi Karl Mabeta, affectionately known as Fudge, had a brief cameo in the Bulls's demolition of the Brumbies last week and now the 22-year-old is hungry for more.
Mabeta's debut could be classed as a dream start to a Super Rugby career - coming on in the last five minutes of a game that has already been won and being able to share the stage - in front of a sea of blue, flag-waging fans - with an icon like Victor Matfield.
Not surprising then that Mabeta described his first taste of Super Rugby as "amazing".
Speaking to rugby365.com, ahead of the table-topping Bulls' encounter with the Waratahs in Pretoria on Saturday, he described the manner in which he got the opportunity to make his Super Rugby debut as "crazy".
In an extraordinary series of injuries stalwarts like Bakkies Botha and Dewald Potgieter missed the first few rounds, while lock Danie Rossouw received a blow to the neck in training and was ruled out of the clash with the Brumbies. He was replaced by Flip van der Merwe and the latter's place on the bench was taken by Mabeta.
The talented young second row forward, Mabeta, played for the Bulls in pre-season, but earned his first Super 14 cap when he came on for Pierre Spies inside the final five minutes at Loftus Versfeld last Saturday.
With Rossouw fit again and Potgieter named on the bench, there is no place for Mabeta in the matchday 22 this week.
However, this has not stopped the former South African age-group representative (Under-19) from dreaming of a more regular place in the Bulls' senior team - having come through the ranks, from the Blue Bulls school XV to the Currie Cup team - in the future.
"It was really amazing and the way I got that opportunity was crazy," Mabeta told rugby365.com, when asked about his cameo at Loftus last week - when his participation in the game was not confirmed until the Thursday.
"I am extremely hungry for more now, because it is just amazing to be able to play against other players from different countries," he said, adding: "It adds an intriguing element to the game.
"Even though it [his game time] was just five minutes, it is just amazing being round those people and play that quality of rugby - which is a lot faster. It is crazy," added the player that has played in 28 games for the Blue Bulls, 12 of those as a Currie Cup replacement in the last two years.
He said now that he is in the senior set-up, and there is no longer an Under-21s to fall back on, he knows that he will have to raise the bar that much higher.
"I am in the deep end and at the back end of the line," Mabeta said, adding: "At the Bulls the talent pool is very deep, so you have to take the opportunities you get and keep practicing hard.
"You just have to stay positive so that when that opportunity comes you are ready ... even if sometimes they are few and far in between."
However, for the time being he is happy to train alongside and learn from the host of international stars in the Bulls set-up.
"Being able to play and train with players like Victor Matfield and Pierre Spies, you learn a lot ... you learn how to be streetwise.
"There are so many things you can take from those players that are invaluable and I have already learnt a lot from players like Matfield and Spies."
Mabeta describes himself as more of a "Victor Matfield type players than and Bakkies Botha".
"I am definitely more a No.5 than a No.4," he told rugby365.com.
"I was a very loose player at school, but since I have come to the Bulls I have had to become a lot tighter [in my game].
"I certainly had to add a bit more of a physical edge to my game at rucks, so, yes, I am more of a Matfield type player, but I do have a hard-nosed edge to me."
He said another aspect that makes it so much easier for young player to slot in at the Bulls is that they employ the same systems, from age-groups to the seniors.
"From Under-19 level they keep it almost identical, even to the line-out calls through to the game plan and the names of the various plays - so it is really easy to slot in there."
Mabeta's journey to the Bulls is just as intriguing as his debut was.
Although listed as a product of Pretoria Boys High, he only played there in his final two years at school. He started at age nine in Queens College, Queenstown, which is where the Bulls talent scouts spotted him.
But even more amazing is that Mabeta actually qualifies to play his rugby for America.
He was born in Boston, in the United States, on 13 June 1987.
"My dad was in exile in the United States and he met my mom there," he said, adding: "She is a full-blooded American.
"I was borne there, but only spent the first few years of my life in the US and then we moved to South Africa. The first time I went back [to the US] was the end of last year.
"I can't say I have much American in me, but my mom is full-blown American."
The young Mabeta was introduced to rugby when his father, a stern believer in all-boys schools, enrolled him in Queens College in Queenstown.
"That's where I saw rugby and I saw these first team players. They had this fancy gear, with fancy jerseys and they played in fancy stadiums.
"I was nine years old and this was so intriguing to me and I wanted to be involved. That is when I started playing rugby, at Queens College."
By Jan de Koning