Pundits explain why Lukhanyo Am is so good
If the Springboks did manage to pull off a victory over the All Blacks last Saturday at Ellis Park, there was only one player that was going to be man of the match and that was Lukhanyo Am.
The centre, playing most of the match on the wing, was unstoppable, scoring a try himself and being at the heart of a few disallowed tries.
Since that game, the debate regarding who the best player in the world is currently has opened up, with many having the 28-year-old at the top of their list.
SuperSport pundits Swys de Bruin and Hanyani ‘Shimmi’ Shimange tried to explain just why Am is so good after the match.
“I tell you what, you talk about a coaching manual player example, it’s that guy,” the former Springboks assistant coach de Bruin said. “He can offload, he can sense when it’s on, he can beat guys. He’s so slippery in the tackle, he reads gaps, and that’s a skill that he has, just to beat players- spin out.”
Shimange added: “You look at that pass he gave to [Makazole] Mapimpi in the World Cup final, the no-look one, the kick. Last year, the pass behind the back, the offload last week to Kurt-Lee Arendse, the grubber – I think it was against the Bulls in the URC – when he caught the ball across the touchline and kicked it. If you did a highlights package of him, it is unbelievable.
“What’s fantastic about Lukhanyo Am is his ability to make other players around him look good. If you’re a wing, you want Lukhanyo Am there, or a fullback, because he’ll get that ball into space as quickly as possible. If he needs to take contact he can. And defensively, against the British & Irish Lions in the first Test when he made that read. There’s the class to him, but there’s a hard edge too, and he’s good over the ball. If the opportunity presents itself, he can get himself over the ball and steal. Fantastic game.”
De Bruin finally added: “I use him as an example when I coach coaches, because he covers the whole skillset and that’s so nice to see that.”
