Jurie Matthee has spent the last couple of years competing with two of South Africa’s brightest stars in Manie Libbok and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
But now he is making a name for himself in his own right as the Vodacom URC’s top points scorer and dreaming of one day following the big two onto the international stage.
He has racked up 52 points so far this season from two tries, ten penalties and six conversions to help the DHL Stormers win their opening five league matches.
The prolific fly-half will once again be a key man for the Cape Town-based outfit when they take on Munster Rugby in a top-of-the-table clash at Limerick’s Thomond Park on Saturday evening.
Last season, he was vying for the No 10 jersey with both Libbok and Feinberg-Mngomezulu. With the former having joined Japanese club Kintetsu Liners and the latter away on Test duty, Matthee has really grabbed his chance this term.
The 25-year-old says having worked with the two Springbok stars has really helped develop his own game.
“It’s an opportunity to measure yourself every single day against the guy that’s playing in front of you,” he said.
“You have the privilege of seeing your competition, knowing what they do. It’s quite cool.
“I learned a lot from Manie. The way he kicks the ball with both feet is quite incredible and there’s also his natural ability to go to space. The way he kicked is something specifically I learned from.
“I have been training with Sacha now for a couple of years and what he does on a rugby pitch is incredible.
“He has been playing amazing and is having a great run. He is playing good rugby and is obviously inspiring.
“I have learned a lot from those two guys.
“It’s a very privileged position to be in at the Stormers. You have all these world class players around you. There’s always something you can learn from them.”
As for his own international ambitions, the Western Province product says: “I want to play at the top level, that is my dream.’
“I want to get there, that’s where I want to go.
“How to get there is just playing a lot of rugby now over the next couple of years. You have got to play to become one of the better guys in our industry. It’s our currency.
“You can maybe put pressure on yourself, especially having dreams to play for the Springboks. But I think the best way to get there is just to express yourself and enjoy your rugby.
“I obviously want to get there, but for now it’s just about expressing yourself and getting confident in what you are doing and what decisions you are making as the game driver.”
With Feinberg-Mngomezulu lining up for South Africa against Wales in Cardiff this weekend, Matthee is set to continue as the playmaker for the table-topping Stormers against Munster in a battle between the two unbeaten sides in the league.
“It’s going to be almost Test match-like in wet conditions,” he said.
“I think we are well prepared for what’s ahead. It’s going to be a physical battle, but we are ready for it.
“It’s about getting the momentum right, ending up on the right side of the pitch and scoring points on the board.
“It’s an opportunity to play against quality players and measure yourself against them.
“But, whatever they bring, we will be looking to execute from our side and do what we’ve prepped for.”
The former Stellenbosch University student added: “It’s been a very good start to our season, five wins on the trot. We couldn’t be happier.
“It’s quite satisfying to get the results. You can’t complain too much.
“It’s been so fun implementing a game model that gets us over the line. Everybody has had smiles on their faces.
“Now it’s Thomond Park and we are ready for the conditions and ready to react to what we see and whatever the day brings.”
Mr. Wholesome
Sport Trivia: She was the first South African to win gold at the Olympics after 44 years. She won the gold medal in the 100m and 200m breaststroke in Atlanta in 1996. Answer: Penny Heyns. Penny Heynes held 14 records for breaststroke. During the 1999 Pan Pacific games, she broke 6 world records, (many of them her own previous records), and by the end of 1999 she held the record for the 50m, 100m and 200m long course breaststroke, simultaneously.
Light Lion
There\’s only one person who witnessed Jim Laker and Anil Kumble taking 10 wickets in an innings – As a 10-year-old Richard Stokes witnessed Jim Laker taking all 10 wickets in the 1956 Old Trafford Test against Australia. Forty-three years later he was in India watching the India vs Pakistan Test and saw Anil Kumble taking all the 10 wickets in an innings. These were the only two Tests Stokes has watched in his life.