DURBAN – Curwin Bosch was certainly a talking point during this year’s Super Rugby campaign that saw him controversially overlooked at flyhalf for the Sharks, but all that has changed in the Currie Cup, where he is firmly ensconced in the No 10 jersey.
He says the positives to take from spending time at fullback earlier this year is that he grew his game.
“It’s all part of the game being spoken about, we all have opinions on a lot of things,” the 22-year-old smiled after training yesterday ahead of Friday’s visit to the Pumas.
“It was a big learning curve for me. At 15 I learned a lot about space and time and that is going to benefit me whether I play at flyhalf or fullback. But yes, it is nice to be back at flyhalf.”
On the subject of growth, that very word is the motto of the Sharks for this Currie Cup campaign.
“Definitely the key word for us in this Currie Cup is ‘Growth’ and I think the effort in the first game (against Griquas) was all individually driven, so it was the players’ responsibility in that second game to step up so that the team could perform,” Bosch said.
Curwin Bosch in action during the 2019 Currie Cup. Photo: Gerhard Duraan/BackpagePix
Observers of the Sharks’ training session will have noted the zest with which the players get stuck in and Bosch says this is a continuation of the theme of “effort and growth”.
“There is a lot of energy in the squad. After being criticised for lack of effort that first week, we made a promise to ourselves that this would not be the case for the rest of the season. We are going to control the controlables and bring the effort and energy in every training session.”
Bosch agrees that work ethic will again be key this week against a wounded Pumas.
“They are difficult to beat at home. We know what to expect of them. They are a physical side and they are trying to speed up their game as well,” Bosch said.
“We are aware of the challenge that lies in wait. If you look at the stats, they are the team that concedes the least tries in the opening quarter of matches, so we have a plan to counter that; but they also concede the most points in the final 20 minutes, so it is going to take patience for us to stick to our game plan.”