Hacjivah Dayimani returns to France with a renewed willingness to embrace rugby’s evolution as a modern hybrid player.
The dynamic loose forward rejoined the Stormers in February after a near two-year stint with Racing 92 in Paris, where he experienced a different style of rugby and, at times, an unexpected positional shift.
“It’s obviously good to be back,” Dayimani said on Tuesday ahead of Saturday’s Investec Champions Cup last-16 playoff against Toulon. “The more things change, the more they stay the same.
“My role has changed a bit, though. I’m trying to serve the team more and fill in wherever it’s needed.”
The 28-year-old admitted his move back to Cape Town was influenced by several factors, including limited game time after a long injury lay-off, and a positional switch that didn’t suit him at the time.
“I was out for seven months with an achilles injury,” he explained. “When I came back, I transitioned to the wing and played there for a few months. The coaches saw me as a hybrid player … 80% wing and 20% flank.
“For me, it was about my career and getting the right game time. There was also the factor of my family. In the end, we reached an agreement that allowed me to come back home.”
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Despite his initial reluctance, Dayimani said his time on the wing broadened his skill set significantly under coaches and former internationals Frédéric Michalak and Joe Rokocoko.
“In France, they told me, ‘If we don’t put you on the wing, it’s a waste.’ I spent three or four months training there, working on positioning, kicking and understanding the game from a different perspective,” he said.
“That has opened up my arsenal. If I’m needed on the wing, I’m not uncomfortable. I can play there, at centre or at flank. It depends on what the team needs.”
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Dayimani’s France experience also reshaped his understanding of the game’s demands and its constant evolution, including contestable kicks which has become such a big part of rugby.
“The game is changing. If you look before, it was always coming down to the offload in games and everyone was just trying to offload.
“Before that, everyone was trying to play around the fringes and expose a vacuum. So every two or three years, there’s something new as teams try to innovate and identify space.”
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He added that with the new laws around escorts and blocking, wings and fullbacks are much more isolated “and it becomes a 50-50 and it’s broken play”.
Dayimani is also embracing a senior leadership role within a squad he believes is better positioned than ever to succeed.
“Two years ago, a lot of the guys were very young,” he said. “Now they’ve grown into leaders. For me, it’s about helping where I can.”
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Photo: Gallo Images
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