Why Spies will be No 1 at No 8

By Peter Bills

Some things in life are a given. Pierre Spies will become one of the great No 8s of world rugby.

Forget the fact that he was man of the match against New Zealand in Rustenburg last Saturday, playing on the flank. He can play at six or seven. But in my view, it is at No 8 that this wonderfully talented young man will enter the annals of the greats of the world game.

Brian Lochore, Murray Mexted, Mervyn Davies, Wayne Shelford... the greatest No 8s the game has known have certain, definable characteristics. Intrinsically, they are ball-handling players, men comfortable in possession. They pick and go. They drive off the scrum base, surging forward, ball in hand, a free arm to repel tacklers.

But they offer a whole lot more than just forward momentum, however exciting that aspect can be, as we saw from Spies in Rustenburg. The great No 8s read a game like a book; cover tackling, supporting, driving, cajoling; their antennae taking them where danger threatens when the opposition has the ball.

The rise of Spies has been meteoric. A member of South Africa's Under-21 World Cup team in France in June and July, he faced the Wallabies on his debut in Brisbane. At the end of that night, he had scant idea whether to laugh or cry. Sure, he had his Springbok cap - but in a 49-0 defeat.

Commendably, he kept his head. He re-appeared in the Loftus Test and then in the third match of the year against New Zealand in Rustenburg. And he was, by common consent, the man of an extraordinary match.

Can any young man handle such an alarming fluctuation of emotions? Can any sportsman ever be prepared for so turbulent a ride through the skies of international sport? It seems doubtful. So how does Spies handle such violent fluctuations of emotions?

Very simply. "When I am at home, my mother tells me I have to water the garden. I have to get out there with the hose-pipe. She says it is therapeutic; she tells me I must keep working. My family and friends keep me real."

Stopping yourself getting too far ahead too quickly is one thing, but handling the trauma of a 49-0 Test defeat on debut is something else. As Spies says: "It was an unbelievable start to Test rugby.

"But I made sure I didn't have time to sit still and think about it. I didn't want to. My road so far this year has been unbelievable. One day I will sit down and ponder it all but not yet. I like to think I'm a level-headed sort of guy, very calm. I try not to think about it too much. I prefer to focus on the job ahead. If you get carried away and forget the things that brought you there in the first place then you will have problems."

At 21, you can hardly believe such maturity can exist in any player. But Spies handles it all with great aplomb. For a start, he never expected to be playing for the Springboks so soon after the Under-21 World Cup, in France in June.

So what did he really think on that horror night in Brisbane as he became a Springbok 49er?

"The pain of Brisbane? Yes, that's a good way to put it. It certainly wasn't an easy pill to swallow. Losing like that wasn't nice; it was very hard to come to terms with.

"Had I been playing in the amateur era it would have been so much harder to get over. But as a professional, you just have to get up the next day and get on with it.

"After that, Rustenburg, was like a weight off our shoulders. It did the team so much good, especially against the All Blacks. We are very glad for Jake (White) as well. But we had to do it for pride. When you play for your country you just can't keep on losing."

And the future? "I definitely believe I can play No 8 in the future. I really can see that scenario and that was my dream at school. I believe I will ripen as a player and I want to become a great player. I am prepared to add on all the required work and dedication."

In so many ways, South Africa has an exceptional young man in its midst.