Rassie Erasmus has plenty of great Springboks in his South Africa squad but there is just one individual he describes as a "once in a lifetime" talent. It's not Siya Kolisi, his double World Cup-winning captain. Nor Eben Etzebeth, the most capped Test player in his country's history, either.
No, Erasmus reserves the highest of praise for a man a foot shorter and nearly 8st lighter than some of his teammates. In just 38 caps for his country, Cheslin Kolbe has become one of the Springboks' most crucial cogs, a comic book creation with flashing feet, rhinoceros beetle strength and a tool belt befitting of South Africa's ultimate utility figure.
Want emergency scrum half cover to enable you to pick seven forwards on the bench for a World Cup final? Kolbe is happy to oblige. Fly half struggling with the boot and an alternative required? The wing will step up, with few issues. Fancy trying something funky with a back throwing into a lineout? The 31year-old can do that, too.
"I'm blessed with the skillset I have, but I work quite hard on it," Kolbe tells The Independent when asked how he came to be quite such a conjuror. From his time playing touch barefoot on the streets of the Western Cape through his stint on the sevens circuit, which included an Olympic bronze medal, he has never been afraid to try things.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
It's the unmade Rocky film with a twist... roll up, folks
There is no hate, no love, the gloves are big and the rounds will be short when Mike Tyson and Jake Paul fight on Friday night.
While rivals hit the buffers, Liverpool deserve their lead
Alexis Mac Allister can have a footballing eloquence. His job involves reading the game.
United's ship steadied, now Amorim hits deeper waters
It may be the way all Manchester United managers imagine their reign ending.
Supermarket shoppers will soon find ‘every little hurts'
Is chancellor Rachel Reeves’s decision to hike employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) about to hit us all – and right in the supermarket baskets?
Barclays warns tax rise will hit workers' living standards
Business leaders accuse government of betraying the nation’
How Gary Barlow became accidental king of memes
The singer is currently enjoying a load of nice days out’ on his new travel show. It’s the latest step in his reinvention as an inadvertent icon of hun culture’, says Katie Rosseinsky
Brothers grim: on the dark world of Nineties boybands
As anew documentary series reveals what it was really like to ride the pop train to stardom, Jessie Thompson remembers her own youthful obsession and looks behind the curtain
Cast iron catnip for Gen Z's aspirations of adulthood
Police had to be called after hundreds of frenzied shoppers descended on a cookware sale this weekend. Helen Coffey dons oven gloves to tackle the LeCreuSlay phenomenon
'Some boys wet themselves, some wanted their mothers'
Reckless exposure to atomic weapons tests left young men and later, their children suffering from debilitating illness and disability. Zoé Beaty reports on the long fight for justice
Why India's trainee doctors are hoping for more bodies
Logistical hurdles and cultural sensitivities are affecting the donation of cadavers, so medical students are forced to train on anatomical models or simulations, reports Namita Singh
