From Vredenburg to URC – Jooste dreams big after getting his chance at Bulls
After a great season with the SA u.20 team, promising young winger, Cheswill Jooste, already had his first taste of URC rugby with the Bulls and he was as at home as a fish in water.
Cheswill Jooste’s stunning United Rugby Championship (URC) debut earlier this season was exactly the kind of moment he had dreamt about as a boy playing touch rugby in the streets of Vredenburg on a Sunday night.
And it was exactly the performance Bulls coach Johann Ackermann believed the new young star was capable of.
The 19-year-old winger scored twice in his team’s 53-40 victory over the Ospreys in their opening URC fixture at Loftus Versfeld in September.
“Growing up I always watched famous players like Bryan Habana and Kurt-Lee Arendse scoring tries for the Bulls, and contributing to this team was a dream come true,” said Jooste in a recent interview.
It showed the confidence Ackermann had in a young player who already made an impact for the Bulls in the Carling Currie Cup, and of course who was a feature of the Junior Springboks’ World Rugby u.20 Championship victory this year where Ackermann also worked with Jooste as a coaching consultant for the team.
Jooste said he was well prepared by Ackermann and the senior Bulls players for his first taste of URC competition.
“Playing in a top tournament like this, there is massive excitement for me. I had a chat with Canan Moodie about the intensity of the games and the physicality of them and that’s what I focused on in the pre-season – to get those things in order to perform at my best when the opportunity arises. This was my first senior pre-season and it was very tough and challenging,” he explained
But fortunately for Jooste het worked with Ackermann at the SA u.20’s and had a pre-season there with him.
“That meant that I knew a bit about what to expect and what he expects from me. Coach Johan has always said to me to just be myself and express myself and enjoy it on the field.” Jooste remarked.
That expression came to the fore at Loftus this after his first game from a young player who seems about to make a huge impact in the URC this season.
But the residents of Vredenburg could’ve already told you that from what they saw all those years ago on those Sunday nights on their streets.
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