Vodacom Bulls utility back Boeta Chamberlain insists he will be ready to step up should Saturday’s Vodacom URC match against the Sharks at Loftus come down to a last-minute goal kick.
The 25-year-old flyhalf/fullback has a 78% goal-kicking success rate in this season’s Vodacom URC after six appearances (including four starts at flyhalf), but has missed some pressure kicks during a professional career that began with the Sharks in 2019.
In the last play of extra time in the 2024 Currie Cup semi-final against his former team, the Sharks, at Loftus, Chamberlain’s long-range penalty attempt fell short, and while the match ended in a 40-40 draw, the visitors advanced to the final having scored more tries.
When asked on Tuesday, ahead of the Bulls’ URC match against the Sharks in Pretoria on Saturday, how he would respond to those who believe he doesn’t have big-match temperament, Chamberlain said: “Well, first of all, when you’re in that situation, I don’t see myself as someone who misses on purpose.
“I believe I have BMT. But in the process of putting the ball down, stepping back … there is such a small margin for error. It can depend on a lot of things, but once you stand back, getting ready for the kick, in the moment, it’s either you get it or you don’t get it.
“It’s nothing to do with my prep or anything like that.”
Goal-kicking was a deciding factor in the Bulls’ 33-32 win in Cape Town last weekend, with Stormers flyhalf Jurie Matthee missing three consecutive goal kicks and replacement Clayton Blommetjies off-target with what would have been a match-winning conversion.
Had the Bulls lost, David Kriel would have regretted missing the simple conversion of his team’s fourth try that would have given them an eight-point lead.
“The wind was swirling,” said Chamberlain, who replaced Kriel with eight minutes to go but wasn’t required to kick for goal. “Cape Town Stadium also isn’t a ground that you are so familiar with; you go there on the Friday and start kicking there for the first time.
“I think it’s also just a lack of concentration in that moment, because it’s such a straightforward kick. The easiest kicks are actually the hardest kicks, because everyone expects you to get them over.”
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Chamberlain, who scored 263 points for the Sharks in 58 matches across all competitions, said he had given the Bulls some “inside information” on his old team.
“They have individuals who can create something out of absolutely nothing, so we tend to keep the game as structured as possible against the Sharks because they live off unstructured play,” he added. “So I think going into this weekend, the biggest thing for us will be to keep it as tidy as possible.”
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Photo: Gordon Arons/Gallo Images
