Promise unfulfilled

During the 1996 season a rugby contact of mine in the Cape encouraged me to get to Newlands early to see an exceptional Western Province under-21 side in action.

He was particularly enthused by the play of two young men called Corné Krige and Selborne Boome but after a game in which the Province youngsters did serve up some sublime touches I recall saying to him, “never mind about Krige and Boome; who is this kid Skinstad?”

It had been a few years since the retirement of Rob Louw and here, finally, was a running, linking, passing, creative loose forward and it came as no surprise when the young Skinstad made his senior Western Province debut by the end of the year and captained South Africa at under-21 level the following season.

His was an exceptional talent – a loose forward with a pair of hands made in heaven, exceptional lateral movement and the kind of natural rugby acumen you very seldom see.

Skinstad had Springbok written all over him and none of us writers, and a good few officials, had any doubt he would end up as captain of his country.

He was one of the most exciting, accomplished and ‘together’ young players to come to the fore in my time as a writer so it was with a sense of deep sadness that I read the recent dispatches that Skinstad has accepted that he will not be going to Rugby World Cup 2003 and that he intends to move on to England or France next year at the age of just 27.

His is a tale of promise unfulfilled.

After playing a starring role to help South Africa reach the World Cup Sevens final in Hong Kong in 1997 he was a key player in Harry Viljoen’s Western Province side who won the Currie Cup in 1997.

This resulted in him being picked to go on the Springbok tour to the UK and Nick Mallett, who had succeeded Carel du Plessis as coach, immediately installed him as captain of the midweek side as the building blocks of a potentially great Springbok career went smoothly into place.

Before the tour was over Skinstad would earn his first full cap, coming on as a replacement in the test against England at Twickenham, and he was starting to be an integral part of a team in the beginning stages of a 17-match run of victories – an impact player who defined the concept.

Bobby Skinstad, before his agents made the rather silly request that he should be known as Bob, was the epitome of the modern rugby player. He had had no doubt that he wanted to play the game professionally and not only was he talented but also handsome, confident and fluent.

He was rugby’s new man – a dream for the marketing men. He seemed to love being in the limelight, he took obvious delight in playing in the game, he appeared in a fashion shoot without his shirt on and when people began to remark on his habit of sticking out his tongue he had the chutzpah to stick a diamond on it for a television ad.

It used to strike me that there might be some subliminal message in that tongue of his, that he was to rugby what Mick Jagger was to pop music, but mostly I reveled in his rugby as he continued in the role of adding spark to the efforts of Gary Teichmann, André Venter and Rassie Erasmus.

The Springboks won the Tri-Nations in 1998 – still their only success in the southern hemisphere tournament – and after scoring one of the tries in the scoring spree that led to South Africa coming from 23-7 down to beat the All Blacks 24-23 in Durban he came on to produce probably the most memorable moment of his career in the clinching game against the Wallabies at Ellis Park.

Showing perfect anticipation he stood out in the backs and after the most subtle of dummies glided passed Tim Horan to cross the line and score behind the posts with an extravagant dive.

Unbeknown to those of us keeping an eye on the Boks that try, and the 29-15 victory it clinched, had germinated a thought in the mind of Mallett that would ensure that controversy and Skinstad would never be far apart.

The Boks next left on a grand slam tour of Britain and were a mite fortunate to get past Wales 28-20 in a test played at the Wembley Stadium in London. The upshot would be an immense shock when the team to play Scotland was announced a few days later. Skinstad was named as No7 flank but the biggest surprise was that Mallett had decided to drop the influential André Venter rather than, as some had suspected, an out of form Mark Andrews with the Free Stater moving to lock.

Aided and abetted by his assistant Alan Solomons, Mallett had come to the conclusion that if Skinstad could add a bit of magic late in the game, would it not be better to have him on earlier in the hope that he would weave his spells even sooner.

But the coach and his advisors had reckoned without Venter’s status among his teammates and dropping the “iron man” disturbed the team’s chemistry and caused Skinstad to be unfairly portrayed as a villain rather than the burgeoning talent he undoubtedly was.

As it turned out Skinstad made some spectacular runs in the open against Scotland – once costing the Boks a try by electing to go on his own rather than passing – and against Ireland at Lansdowne Road in Dublin he marked himself as a truly unique loose forward with a swerving run from fully 45 metres to score a stunning try at the posts.

But then came Twickenham and the Springboks’ bid for the record of 18 straight victories. Too many of the team went onto the field injured and Skinstad, in a test that was more about graft than grace, was almost anonymous in the kind of match that did not suit his style.

Interestingly, he had played his first three full tests as a flanker but sadly his arrival was clouded in controversy and he and Venter would become the counterpoints in arguments about the merits of dray horses as opposed to show ponies.

Skinstad was trying to break into a settled and highly effective loose forward trio and there were always going to be arguments for or against – more so because his artistry could be snuffed out in attritional matches.

Skinstad was in excellent form in the ensuing Super 12 – helping to build the platform that carried the Stormers to their only semi-final – but then came the fateful match against the Canterbury Crusaders at Newlands on 18 April 1999.

The story has never been properly told but the generally accepted account is that Skinstad became irritated by the behaviour of the New Zealanders at a pub in Claremont and left in a huff. On his way home on a rainy night his powerful sponsored car skidded while rounding a corner and hit a wall – the young rugby player striking his left-knee against the dashboard and incurring a serious knee ligament injury.

Having to keep an appointment in Johannesburg the next day he was not seen by a doctor until the following day and the upshot was that his leg was placed in plaster and for him the Super 12 was over and there were doubts he wouldn't be fit in time for the 1999 Rugby World Cup.

The Springboks, in the meantime, had a shocking time of it in their build-up to the tournament. They lost for the first time against Wales at the partially completed Millennium Stadium and then incurred record losses in the Tri-Nations against the All Blacks (28-0 in Dunedin) and the Wallabies (32-6 in Brisbane) in a build-up to the RWC that was everything but promising.

Gary Teichmann was struggling with a knee injury and was unable to play in Brisbane or the return tests, but no-one anticipated Mallett’s next bombshell when he announced that he was dropping his long-serving captain and installing Joost van der Westhuizen as skipper for the World Cup.

The shock waves had hardly died down when the coach included Skinstad, who had yet to complete a full Currie Cup game and had not confirmed his fitness, in the World Cup squad.

It made no sense – Mallett has since conceded it was the worst decision he made as a coach – and in retrospect did Skinstad more harm than good.

Skinstad had returned from his rehabilitation looking decidedly top-heavy – the result of hours of upper body work in the gym while his knee was healing - and with a marked limp. Those of us watching from the sidelines were amazed that the team management persevered with him – now at No8 – because he looked unfit and there were few signs of that wonderful handling and beautiful movement.

He would be installed as the 50th Springbok captain when Harry Viljoen named him to succeed André Vos in yet another controversial move 2001, but the sad fact is that Bob Skinstad was never again the same player after that fateful accident.

There were glimpses of his glorious gifts but his path became dogged by injuries – perhaps as a result of his being rushed to the World Cup in 1999 – and the headlines he made were often for exploits other than those on the field.

His decision to go overseas will in all likelihood end his association with the Springboks – especially as the next World Cup will be four years hence – and for me his departure will be tinged with regret and sorrow that a cruel twist of fate robbed us of seeing his talents in full flower; for at his best Bob Skinstad was a unique and special rugby player.

I so wish it had turned out differently and trust his luck will change wherever he chooses to make his new home because a fit Skinstad will be an asset for any team lucky enough to have him aboard.