Lukhanyo Am: Springboks centre hailed by former England number eight Nick Easter as standard setter who is ‘an icon of hard work’
Quietly, a gum-chewing sensation of a centre from the east coast of South Africa is on track as a candidate for World Rugby Player of the Year at the moment.
Fleet of foot, unbreakable in tackle but above all, blessed with enormous rugby IQ, Springbok centre Lukhanyo Am is setting the standards of backline play in the international game.
Born in a township just outside Kings William Town called Zwelitsha and raised into a soccer mad environment by his mother, Am missed all of the traditional routes such as Craven Week or any age-grade international rugby. He settled instead for a childhood of peering through fences to watch the elite schools play, with his mum desperately trying to persuade him to play the round ball sport.
Nevertheless, the centre was intent on rugby – at U13 level he started as a lock before finding his feet in midfield, at the Margate-based Gladiators Rugby Academy, attracting the interest of Border Bulldogs and subsequently being awarded a pre-season trip to Saracens on the British High Commission Exchange programme to Saracens.
Signed with the Sharks in 2016
Upon his graduation from that scheme (aimed to assist young players from disadvantaged backgrounds) Am signed a deal with the Sharks in 2016, the start of his journey to greatness.
Former England number eight Nick Easter spent a couple of years on the coaching staff at the Sharks and the brilliant centre made a huge impression on him during his tenure there.
“Lukhanyo is arguably the best player I have ever coached,” he commented.
“The thing that struck me most of all is his personal desire to improve and to learn – there’s not one part of the rugby skill set that he doesn’t want to understand and to be able to execute at the highest level and he has the natural athletic gifts to be able to do just about anything on a rugby pitch.”
His work with the Sharks saw successive Super Rugby quarter-finals in 2017, 2018 and 2019 and Am’s understated leadership was very much a driving force behind that – so much so that he replaced the iconic Tendai Mtawarira as skipper in 2019 – a move that reflected the respect that his teammates showed toward him.
Easter continued: “Am is a very softly spoken man – no histrionics, just calm and concise words. He is an icon of hard work which sets others the standards to aspire to – one of those guys that would never ask a teammate to do what he himself wouldn’t do.
“Above all, his communication on the pitch, whether in attack or defence, is a vital cog of both Sharks and Springbok rugby – he is the eyes, ears and voice of every backline he plays within. Guys respond to him – he knows his stuff – and his ability to inspire belief in others and to improve players around him is absolutely peerless in my experience.”
Made Bok bow against Wales in 2017
Am gained his first cap off the bench against Wales in 2017 and, once Rassie Erasmus took over in 2018 and recognised the leadership and playing skills of the centre, he quickly became a fixture in the Bok midfield, scoring his first try against Argentina in Durban in 2018.
Erasmus commented many times about the Am effect – the organisational and distribution skills he brought to the Springboks and his ability to switch from defensive lynchpin to attacking genius in the blink of an eye and above all, the pinpoint focus with which Am approaches every part of his game.
Am himself commented in an interview with The Citizen in February this year: “My focus is on my goals, which are controlling my performance and improving my game each time I am on the field.
“As soon as the season is starting with the Sharks, my focus is on being the best I can be and then transferring that to the national side. But I don’t look too far ahead because of the different challenges we face nowadays and there is always the risk of injuries.
“I just work on being the best I can be. I’ve always been that way; my focus is on my performance and doing the right things right. Making sure everything is in place to do that. That is what has worked really well for me in the past.
“I take it a game at a time, and then focus on the next one. I analyse myself, where I am at in my game and where I want to be. I just try to tick those small boxes.”
Easter remembers fondly the big moments that Am was able to create with pleasure.
“A lot of Lukhanyo’s skill is to unlock the ability of players around him – things like his ability to offload in contact or his option taking, which is always spot on – those are the gifts that create opportunities for others around him.
“But individually, he’ll hit big plays that set the benchmark – his try in the against against the Bulls will always remain with me – deep restart, Am sprints to jump and challenge, catches, kicks a grubber and regathers to crash over – a match turning moment that lasted about two seconds from inception to completion,” Easter chuckled.
LUKHANYO AM!🔥@Vodacom #URC #BULvSHA #SSRugby pic.twitter.com/07jVeGBwMv
— vodacomrugby (@VodacomRugga) February 12, 2022
Am’s performances in this year’s Rugby Championship have been at another level completely as he matures into one of the finest outside centres the game has ever seen. His performance on the wing in defeat to the All Blacks was simply incredible; against Wales in July, he was consistently the man that was the difference in a tight series and who will forget his divine pass in the Rugby World Cup final to unleash Makazole Mapimpi for South Africa’s first ever try in their three finals?
Right now, the modest centre from the Eastern Cape is arguably the most important player in the Green and Gold of the Springboks. If he continues his trajectory and maintains the standards he’s set himself in recent times, by the end of the might very well be challenging Antoine Dupont for the notional title of the best player in the world.
Enjoy him whilst you can – talents like Am come along once in a lifetime.