Namibia’s rugby fifteen, the Welwitschias’ fullback Chrysander Botha, believes his recent move to English club Exeter Chiefs will improve his game.
The 26-year-old fullback, who arrived on a two-year contract last week, has spent his whole career to date playing in South Africa. But the Namibia international, who signed from the Lions, was keen to further his horizons and experience rugby in a different part of the world.
So when Chiefs head coach, Rob Baxter, inquired about his availability, the 28-times capped speedster was keen to make the move happen. “We were a few games into the Super Rugby season and the phone started ringing and I heard that Exeter were looking for a full back,” said Botha.
“My agent talked to me about it and I considered it straight away because I have played in every competition in South Africa and I wanted to try something different. Opportunities like this don’t come up too often, so it was a new challenge that I wanted to take on. If you ask any rugby player around the world, all of them love challenges and for me this was the challenge that I wanted to take on,”
“I’ve no doubt I will add value to my game by coming here. Yes, it’s going to be different to what I have experienced before in my career. I know I will have to adapt to the team structure and the way they do things, but that’s exciting and it’s up to me to exploit my talents and show everyone what I can do.” he added.
Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter, who made Botha his eighth summer signing, thinks the player’s experience in the Super 15 and also at international level will stand him in good stead in the Aviva Premiership.
“Watching the way he plays, there’s a few things that stand out,” said Baxter. “He’s a good talker back there, he’s not a guy who just moves around and fills a role without influencing other people.
“He’s a brave defender, he’s got good footballing skills and, within a framework where he might see more ball, we might see more of him in attack than the Lions did. His all-round game at fullback looks very strong.
However, Baxter said Botha was eased into things in a bid to get him fully up to speed ahead of the first pre-season match at Cardiff next Friday. – exeterexpressandecho.co.uk