Bullet beats the hard knocks
James Dalton is back! Call him what you will - problem child, the one always looking for trouble on the rugby field... he remains a good player.
The man they call Bullet has gone through hell in the last two years and found it hard to stay out of trouble.
His rugby suffered because of personal and business problems but he believes he is on the road to recovery.
"I was the master of my own disaster," the former Springbok hooker reflected this week.
"I let myself down and aligned myself with people who let me down. Also I found that good friends were few and far between," Dalton said.
"If it wasn't for my family and real friends I would not have come through that time."
But he sorted himself out and changed provinces from the Lions to the Falcons at the start of the year after having been confined to the Vodacom Cup and Currie Cup in 1999 and 2000. This after a Springbok career that included a World Cup winner's medal in 1995, tours to Italy and England (1995), Argentina, France and Wales (1996), Europe (1997), Britain and Ireland (1998), and several home tests.
"I realised if I wanted to resurrect my career I had to go back to the basics. I'm happy at the Falcons... they're treating me like a rugby player and not someone with a troubled past," Dalton said.
Even the Bulls' coach Phil Pretorius recognised 29-year-old Dalton's potential, albeit only in the latter half of the Super 12 competition. Naka Drotske, the Bulls' first-choice hooker, fell out of favour and Dalton was called up.
In their last two matches - against the Stormers and Cats - he even captained the beleaguered Bulls side.
It was the trip to Ellis Park in Johannesburg in the last round that felt good. He led the Bulls to a win over the fancied Cats and on top of that he was named man of the match.
"I returned to a ground where I had experienced a lot of turmoil, a clash of personalities and just an unhappy chapter in my rugby career (towards the end)," he explained.
"I ran out onto that field with a smile on my face (and walked off it with an even broader smile). You could say it was the perfect game for me."
That may have been so but the Springbok selectors could not find space for him in the 32-man Springbok training squad assembling in Plettenberg Bay at the end of the month.
Instead, they thought it best to go with the inexperienced Sharks duo of John Smit and Lukas van Biljon. Smit, a former South African under-23 captain, has played 10 tests and Van Biljon none. "I never really expected to be part of the squad. And I don't want to sound arrogant but I'd like to think I'm the best hooker in South Africa. But I am 100 percent behind the Boks," said the veteran of 34 tests.
In spite of his willingness to put the past behind him and move on, he still sometimes runs into trouble, as we saw against the Stormers two weeks ago.
Referee Mark Lawrence yellow-carded him for foul play. Dalton let rip afterwards, accusing Lawrence of ruining his comeback.
"How can you get back into the game if you have people shooting you in the foot?" Dalton asked after the game.
But he has the fighting power to work his way back into national contention. The assurance from Springbok coach Harry Viljoen that those who were not selected could still fight their way back into the side is comforting for Dalton.
After all, his name is Bullet.
"Kitch Christie (former Springbok coach) called me that for the first time... partly because he couldn't remember everyone's names when he first met us and also because I'm such a fiery character," Dalton recalled this week.
Dalton had a lot of respect for Christie, who led the Springboks to the 1995 World Cup victory.
"He was a well-rounded human being and he had a great influence on my career," Dalton said.
Today Dalton is thriving in his new environment at Kempton Park. His contract with the Falcons expires in December and he is positive about the upcoming Currie Cup.
"We will be competitive because the main thing is that we believe in ourselves," he said. And Dalton himself is bristling with that confidence.