Great Wallabies hooker loses his mind over Cheslin Kolbe skill which ‘sh*t on my entire career’
Springboks wing Cheslin Kolbe during All Blacks Test and his lineout throw.
Former Australia front-row Jeremy Paul has claimed that Cheslin Kolbe is “the best player in the world” after the Springboks flyer showed off his multi-faceted skill set in Cape Town.
The speedster is renowned for his pace, footwork and balance, while he is also adept at the basics required for a wing at Test level, but he added another string to his bow at the weekend.
For one lineout during South Africa’s clash with the All Blacks, Kolbe remarkably acted as the thrower, briefly taking over from Malcolm Marx.
Perfect execution
What’s more, his accuracy was pinpoint and Paul, who earned 72 caps for the Wallabies, marvelled at the brilliance of the 30-year-old when speaking on The Good, The Bad and The Rugby ANZ podcast.
“That Kolbe, man. He threw the f*****g ball in, he threw the f*****g ball in. Oh my god, shut up!” he said.
All Blacks great Justin Marshall was also on the panel and couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing when Kolbe took the ball off Marx.
“I said in the commentary: ‘That’s Cheslin Kolbe!’ Malcolm Marx went to the front of the lineout and I went: ‘What the hell are they doing here?’ And it was a good throw JP, you would have been proud,” Marshall said.
Paul responded: “It was a cracker. I was like, ‘stop it!’ Mate, you just pretty much sh*t on my entire career”, before then making a bold claim about the wing.
“I’m going to say it, he’s the best player in the world today,” the ex-Wallabies hooker added.
Marshall agreed with that sentiment, putting him up there with France’s outstanding playmaker Antoine Dupont, who won Olympic gold in the summer to go alongside his achievements in XVs.
Kolbe or Dupont
The former New Zealand scrum-half initially said that he thinks Kolbe is “the most exciting player”, before pausing and then mentioning the great Dupont.
However, the 51-year-old was effusive with his praise for the Springbok after watching him during their 18-12 triumph over the All Blacks on Saturday.
“Kolbe’s on a par with him (Dupont),” Marshall said.
“The way that he’s got such multiple skills, power and speed across the park. He almost scored – or set up – a try out of nothing when he made that break right through the middle and skinned about three very good All Blacks defenders, and made them look pretty average.
“I’m with you, he’s equally in the debate to be on a par, if not better, than Antoine Dupont as the best player on the planet at the moment.”
Has Cheslin Kolbe surpassed Antoine Dupont as the best player in the world? 🤔
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