Mapoe is a 'special star'
Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:38
Special star: Cheetahs flyer Lionel Mapoe
Free State Cheetahs flyer Lionel Mapoe is said to be shortlisted to become a full Springbok, in the 15-man version, to go with his numerous Sevens caps, when the team is named for South Africa's five-match year-end tour.
Bok coach Peter de Villiers will, on Saturday after the Currie Cup Final between the Blue Bulls and Cheetahs in Pretoria, name a 37-man squad for the tour that will see South Africa play Tests against France (November 13), Italy (November 21) and Ireland (November 28), as well as games against English club sides Leicester and Saracens.
South Africa face Leicester next Friday, November 6, while the date for the clash against Saracens is November 17.
De Villiers has made it clear that he wants to utilise the games against the club teams to plan for the future and expose a few new players to the Bok culture.
And the 21-year-old Mapoe, who burst onto the international scene during the Boks' successful campaign on the International Rugby Board Sevens World Series, is one of those players who have impressed the Bok coach.
While he missed the Cheetahs' Super 14 campaign, because of his Sevens commitments, he showed that he is just as effective in the 15-man version during the Cheetahs' run into the Currie Cup play-offs.
Even though Mapoe scored just three of the Cheetahs 62 Currie Cup tries - teammate Jongi Nokwe on 12 is the competition top scorer - he has been very influential in creating opportunities and keeping extra defenders busy.
Nokwe (12), Frans Viljoen (seven), WP Nel (six), JW Jonker (five) and Nico Breedt are all teammates who have outscored Mapoe - but they have lost count of the number of opportunities he created with his powerful surges and sublime stepping.
Cheetahs backline coach Hawies Fourie described Mapoe as a "special player" and feels he would not have any trouble in making the step up to the 15-man Bok team.
"We did get some flak from the public for not playing him in the Super 14," Fourie told rugby365 in the build-up to Saturday's Final.
"However, we had entered into an agreement with SA Rugby at the start of the year that he would be available for the entire Sevens season, so we couldn't bring him back.
"You could see on the Sevens circuit that he has what it takes to play at the top level - as he doesn't take a step back for the Fijians or All Blacks and he is a very physical player.
"That is something we needed in our backline, out wide.
"We had some great finishers like Jongi [Nokwe], Danwel [Demas] and Fabian [Juries], but we lacked that physical wing who could, when there is not a man over, still break the advantage line and give you momentum.
"That is what he gave us and it is a case of a better balance in the backline with him on the one side and the speedsters on the other side who can use their blistering pace to score tries."
Fourie admitted that Mapoe is a game-breaker, where others are clinical finishers.
And the Cheetahs backs coach also listed another Sevens star, Fabian Juries, in the game-breaker category, rather than being a finisher.
"Jongi is by far the best finisher among the wings we have," Fourie told rugby365.
"He [Nokwe] needs about 30 percent chance and he can score, where Fabian perhaps don't have that blistering pace.
"However, Fabian in turn have that creative ability, like his try at Loftus Versfeld against the Bulls, when he kept stepping past defenders [nine in all].
"Not everybody has that ability and that makes him a game-breaker."
* To read Lionel Mapoe's BIO, CLICK HERE!
By Jan de Koning
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