Springbok careers that didn't reach expected heights

Springbok careers that didn’t reach expected heights

Some Springbok players have not always fulfilled their full potential on the Test stage. Here we look at the curious case of Curwin Bosch.

Curwin Bosch in action for the Springbok team in 2018. Image: Brendan Smialowski / AFP

When schoolboy prodigy Curwin Bosch burst through to senior level, and earned his first Springbok cap at the age of 20, many pundits believed a long and illustrious career lay ahead.

In fact, Bosch himself acknowledged in one interview that his dream was to eventually reach 100 Springbok caps.

However, such expectation can sometimes weight heavily on talented young players, and no one could have predicted some of the struggles that would follow.

As persistent questions and doubts arose over Bosch’s defensive capabilities, he seemed to lose some of his natural feel for the game, while inconsistency and errors began to creep into his performances.

Springbok No. 887: Curwin Bosch

As one of the most talented young schoolboy players of his generation, the former SA Schools and Junior Springboks star perhaps also fell victim to his versatility, with uncertainty having persisted over whether he should specialist at fullback or flyhalf.

After making his Springbok debut just a couple of months after his 19th birthday, which came as a substitute against Argentina on 19 August 2017, he would again feature for the Springboks when he started at fullback in the one off Test against Wales in Washington in 2018.

Bosch then fell by the wayside at international level, but he would continue to play prominently for the Sharks, racking up over 100 caps for the Durban side in all competitions.

The utility back is still only 27-years-old, but he has now taken up a two-year contract with French Pro D2 club CA Brive, where he will hope to be able to get back to his best.

*Parts three and four from this article series will be run later in the week