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Club chairman Sam Naylor believes the benefits of the arrangement, both on and off the pitch, have been enormous. He said: "Our guys can only learn from playing alongside the South African boys." It's a two-way process, for Khanyile is on a learning curve of his own."Some of the places we travel to have weird sounding names," he said, before listing Skipton and Warrington as the most memorable examples. He is still adapting to life on the field after five games. "The conditions are so different, I've never played on a wet and muddy pitch," he said. "You can't build any momentum and it really slows you down." For a player who cites All Blacks icon Jonah Lomu as his hero that could have been a problem, but Khanyile says he's up for the challenge. "I don't think it's unfair to say that the standard of players at the academy back home is higher then here," he said. "But no way does that mean I can take it easy. "The moment I do I'll be taken by surprise." Canny Khanyile is unlikely to let that happen.
He is like a sponge, absorbing new experiences on a daily basis with housemate Andy Stanley, who skippers the Northwich second string. "I'm keeping my eye on the pair of them," quipped Naylor. Khanyile's path to England has been an unconventional one, for at primary school the focus was on football and cricket. While happy to give those sports a try, his passion was always for rugby union and he has one person to thank for that. "My mother," he said. "She is obsessed with the game." Working for the United Nations in the Republic of Ireland meant her son spent time at school their during his formative years.
She used to fill him in on the latest facts and figures from the game's leading players when he returned home. Khanyile believes her time spent living and working in the northern hemisphere made it easier for him to make the move. He said: "No mother wants their son to leave home."But I think mine knew this was a good opportunity for me to experience another culture." And he's immersed himself in every way possible, listing a trip to Alton Towers and chicken dinners among some of his most British experiences to date.
"Lohane tried to tell me as much as possible so I was prepared," he said. "But the moment you step off the plane in another country even the air feels somehow different or, in this case, much colder!" Has that put him off any? "No way," he replied. "If they want me to I would stay for another season."
November 2006
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