Sharks flyhalf Curwin Bosch has discussed his struggle to get regular game time in his favoured position under former head coach Robert du Preez.
The former Grey High pupil made his senior debut for the Sharks at just 19-years-old back in 2016 and at the time was seen as one of South Africa’s most promising players – which was reflected when he earned his first Springbok cap a year later when he came off the bench against Argentina in the Rugby Championship.
However, in 2018, things started to change for Bosch at the Sharks as then coach Du Preez recruited his oldest son Rob Jnr from Western Province – after he had played a starring role in the Cape side’s 2017 Currie Cup title win.
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Following Du Preez’s arrival, Bosch was predominantly used at fullback or as Du Preez’s back-up at flyhalf. He did not start a single game in the No 10 jersey in 2018, and only started five games at flyhalf in 2019.
In an interview with Rapport writer Tinus van Staden, Bosch opened up about his frustrations over those two years – admitting that he felt that he was not given a fair chance to earn a place at flyhalf.
‘I clearly told coach Rob and the coaching team that I had no problem that [Rob Jnr] was coming, as long as the policy for choosing the team stayed fair,’ Bosch told Rapport.
‘That was all I asked. But if you asked me now, it was not fair at all,’ Bosch admitted. ‘All that I wanted was that we both had a fair chance in the No 10 jersey and that the best man gets picked.
‘If he then outplayed me – no problem. Then I would have been the first to say must pick Rob, because he is playing better than me. But that chance was never given to us and that is what frustrates me the most. I began thinking about leaving the Sharks.
‘It is probably just part of rugby and sometimes the team selection won’t be fair – no matter who the coach is.’
Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
