Boeta Chamberlain has had to deal with some tough moments in his professional career, but was on the other, happier side in last week’s United Rugby Championship clash against Edinburgh.
The 25-year-old utility back – who is a flyhalf, but can do a job at fullback too – replaced Jaco van der Walt at No 10 on the hour mark at Loftus Versfeld with the Bulls trailing 13-12.
They had also just lost prop Simphiwe Matanzima to a yellow card, and it looked like the Pretoria side were going to suffer an opening-round defeat.
But flank Marcell Coetzee produced a superb rip in the tackle near his own tryline, and the counter-attack saw wing Sebastian de Klerk put in a 50-22 kick.
Chamberlain was alert to the possibility of catching the Edinburgh defence napping, and he took a quick lineout and passed to Keagan Johannes, who quickly shifted the ball to Barend Smit and it was Springbok wing Canan Moodie who went over under the posts for the game-changing try.
It is that kind of attacking mindset that swayed Chamberlain – who hails from Paarl Boys High in the Cape – to move to the Bulls from the Sharks.
“No, that was just quick thinking from the other guys, and I just reacted to them shouting at me!” Chamberlain, whose actual first name is Henry, said this week after being asked if taking quick throw-ins was his party trick.
“It definitely made the decision a bit easier to be in a team that likes to throw the ball around, like taking chances and backing each other in the decisions they make on the field.
“Pretoria is a bit different than Durban. But I’ve always been used to being away from home – I’m originally from Cape Town.
“The first move to Durban wasn’t that difficult for me – being in hostel also made it a bit easier. I think it’s (adjusting to Pretoria) harder for my wife than me, as she grew up in Durban, so it’s definitely something to get used to, being on our own this side.
“The guys definitely made it easy for me, making the move from Durban to Pretoria. There are a lot of guys that I can learn a lot from – the way they train, the way they think about things on and off the field.
“So, it’s definitely made me grow as a player on and off the field. The guys are very supportive this side, and they back my decisions and back me as a player, and that gives me confidence to play my natural game as well.”
Chamberlain played mainly at fullback during the Currie Cup, but states that he prefers flyhalf.
He will hope to get more game-time in the pivot position in Saturday’s URC clash against Ulster at Loftus Versfeld (4pm start), especially as Johan Goosen is still sidelined with a broken nose.
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Coach Jake White will also hope to be able to field several of his returning Springboks this week who haven’t had a lot of action recently, such as Marco van Staden, Gerhard Steenekamp, Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Willie le Roux.
The Bulls were a bit fortunate to see off the Scottish side last week, and know that they need to step up their intensity and accuracy up front and with ball-in-hand to beat an Ulster side determined to improve after going down 35-22 to the Lions at Ellis Park.
“The biggest difference between flyhalf and fullback is probably that the flyhalf has less time than on fullback. But we tend to use the fullback a lot at first receiver as well, so the biggest difference is probably the number on the back,” Chamberlain said.
“It was a typical first game of the season where we are still trying things out, trying to get used to each other.
“But we are in a very good spot at the moment. Everything is coming together nicely, so hopefully on Saturday, we can just fix our mistakes that we did last weekend, and start clicking and playing together as a team.”