Cheslin Kolbe, an icon of the game, with the ability to ‘step you in a phone booth’.
Who better to get a few ‘stepping tips’ from?
The 31-year-old joined fellow Springboks Rudy Paige and Juan de Jongh on the most recent episode of the Behind The Ruck podcast.
He lets the public in on the secrets behind his jaw-dropping sidestep, the intense conditioning that keeps him unstoppable, and the heroes who inspired him to chase his dreams.
The need to work harder and how he prepares for a game is one of the key factors he listed as reasons for his success.
“I’m quite big on visualizing,” Kolbe says about how he deals with and plans to beat an opponent.
“I play the game throughout the week and not just on weekends.
“Analysing is a big part.
“You get to know what a player’s strengths are and what he may not be good at.”
He speaks about his size and how he takes on bigger players, bouncing opponents and then the ‘step’.
(WATCH as Springbok superstar Cheslin Kolbe joins the Behind The Ruck podcast to share some ‘stepping tips’….)
Kolbe says apart from being ‘blessed’ with talent, the ability to step opponents comes from playing ‘touch rugby’ in the road.
“From a young age, kaalvoete [bare feet], jy worry oor niks [you worry about nothing],” Kolbe told his hosts.
“Jy bloei lekker op die teer [you bleed nicely on the tar].”
“I won’t do it now, but that is where I learned to do it.”
Kolbe added that at professional level it is about reading the body language of defenders.
“The big thing about stepping is your core, your hips,” he said, quipping that his ‘core’ is not what it used to be.
De Jongh spoke about ‘manipulating’ the defence.
“Sometimes you know the defender is on the inside, then you ‘hypnotize’ him to go one way,” De Jongh said, with Kolbe in full agreement.
“You have to be aggressive on the other side to go back.”
Kolbe said you need the ‘explosive power’ to get away from the opponent.
“The trick with defending a sidestepper is to just stay in the same channel,” Kolbe said.
“If he gooses [goosestep] you, you are going to chase him.
“However, if he steps he is only going to gop in the same space.
Source: @behindtheruck_
