Johannesburg — Such has been the scintillating form of Madosh Tambwe, that there has rightfully been a healthy discussion around the hearth, braai, bar-counter and water-cooler that the Bulls wing deserves a national call-up.
The 24-year-old — quite astonishingly only 24 when you consider that he has been playing senior professional rugby since 2017 — is arguably in the best form of his career. Tambwe has been a fleet-footed menace in the United Rugby Championship (URC), hustling defenses with a sidestep and turn of pace that has been breath-taking to watch.
So far this season, he has beaten 44 defenders and made nine clean breaks, gaining 844m in the process, converting his chances into four tries, but creating many more for the Bulls to finish off. His defence might still need some work, but the Springbok masterminds have no doubt taken note of his recent performances.
A three Test match series lie ahead in the near future for the Boks, and it is a schedule that Tambwe could be a part of, even though he remains pragmatic of his chances.
“You have to give credit where it is due,” said Tambwe on Monday in a media briefing.
“There are World Cup guys in (Makazole) Mapimpi; Cheslin Kolbe, who has been playing some great rugby back in France; and Mapimpi, we all know how ‘Pimps’ plays well; and (Sbu Nkosi) - I don’t know what is wrong with him at the moment – but those are more or less the guys that have been in and out of the Bok camp the last two or three years.
“That’ll definitely be the safe net for the selectors. If I do crack the nod, it will be amazing to play in the June Series.”
First things first, however, for Tambwe and the Bulls this weekend.
They have a massive clash against second-placed Ulster on Saturday at Loftus Versveld (kick-off 2pm) in the URC, and the wing’s current momentum could be halted come matchday. Tambwe took a knock late in the first half to his arm, which forced him to be replaced by Cornal Hendricks in their 55-20 victory over Welsh franchise Dragons.
Despite the injury, Tambwe remained optimistic that he would feature in the encounter, saying: “I’ve got a few torn ligaments in my elbow, and I’ll have to take some pain injections and strap my elbow for Saturday’s game.”
Ulster narrowly lost to the Stormers this past weekend, some have argued unfairly; and could find that the conditions in Pretoria just as inequitable. The Bulls are also on a hot streak right now, having won their last four matches, beating Zebre away before returning home to claim the scalps of Munster, Scarlets and Dragons.
It has seen the men in blue rocket up the URC standings from a once poor 14th to seventh on 37th points and with a game in hand. More importantly, the Sharks loss to Edinburgh has ensured that the Bulls leapfrog them and are now only one point behind SA conference leaders, the Stormers, who are in 6th spot.
“When we came back after the loss against the Sharks (a 29-22 loss in February) and the Stormers (a 30-26 loss in January),” Tambwe explained, “we told ourselves that we want to take pride in playing at home.
“We have managed to get some good wins under the belt and it gives us confidence going into the week knowing that we are playing at home. We haven’t lost here in three or four games.
“The objective remains the same: we want to finish in the Top 8 of the competition and go to the play-offs, and once we get to the play-offs, let everything play its course out. So, our main objective is to keep accumulating as many points as we can and put pressure on the teams that are ahead of us.
"Hopefully, we can get to the play-offs, play the quarter-finals, play the semi-finals, and then the final. Nothing is impossible because we have talent here and we are playing well, and we are confident,” he concluded.
IOL Sport