MACKY MY DAY

UNIVERSITY of Cape Town winger Ntokozo Makhaza must not lose heart after he was one of the players cut from the national rugby squad at the weekend, he “could play for the Springboks one day” according to coach Rassie Erasmus. 

A month ago, Rassie Erasmus called Makhaza to invite him to the Springbok alignment camp, but he thought it was a prank call at first.

Ikey’s had won the Varsity Cup and Makhaza was the Player of the Tournament, as he was last year, too. Erasmus has been watching and was so impressed with the wing’s performances that he wanted to find out more.

“Macky,” as he is known to his teammates, duly attended the camp, and Erasmus has reflected on the newcomer’s participation.

Erasmus said: “It’s been a pleasure to work with him.

“He’s consistently been the top Varsity Cup player, and especially in terms of point scoring, probably one of the best in the competition’s history.

“You sometimes wonder, is this one of those players who slipped through the cracks? It’s been good to see what he brings.”

Erasmus wanted to meet the young winger and learn more about him. It was never a case of Macky going straight into the Springbok team but the coach feels he will get his chance.

The coach added: “We definitely think he’s someone who could play for the Springboks one day. It might be a bit early now. He’s slotted in really well, but we’re also being realistic. He’s certainly not far off the pace.

“I think he's going to make it one day. And if we hadn't given him this chance, we’d never know.”

The wing’s coach at Ikeys, former Springbok Robbie Fleck, told Independent Media that Macky is a phenomenon, saying: “He kicks at 85 percent in howling south easters in the Cape and hits 95 percent on the Highveld.

“I told Rassie that Macky has a few shortcomings but Rassie said that is what his coaching staff is for…”

Fleck adds that Makhaza was almost lost to mainstream rugby, saying: “Credit to him, he was Player of the Tournament but had no provincial offers. He was thinking about Sevens but we said, ‘Give it one more year. He had another cracker year and look at him now.”

Makhaza’s next step is to play in the Currie Cup. His exploits in the Varsity Cup earned him a contract with the Cheetahs and a homecoming to the Free State.