When you see it there's something in the back of your mind that says it shouldn't be possible: a 2.06m, 117kg man-child hurtling around the field like a back.But young Rudolph Gerhardus Snyman - RG to his teammates - comes with unusual advantages."I ran the 100m and 200m back at school. My best time was 11 seconds back then," revealed the former Affies pupil this week."I also played a bit of cricket," the 21-year-old explained further. "I was more of a fast bowler, but I enjoyed hitting the ball quite long with the bat."The result is a hybrid lock forward capable of making a running, passing, stepping nuisance of himself in open play and unafraid of putting up his hand when the proverbial hits the fan in the tight-loose.story_article_left1Proof of how equally adept Snyman is in both lock positions - which traditionally have very different demands - can be found in the fact that he has started five matches at No4 while he played seven at No5 lock this season.The incredible thing is that this time last year Snyman, who was in the SA Under-20 side last year, had never played a full game of rugby.Fast-forward 11 matches (until before last night's match against the Lions), the man with the gold mane had accumulated 762 minutes of playing time out of 880. That is an average of 70 minutes a game."At the beginning of the season it was a bit of a worry for me that RG hadn't played 80 minutes. Even at training he would battle to go for a certain amount of time," said Bulls coach Nollis Marais."We had to sit down and have a discussion about it, and I said to him that if he wants to play No5 lock he would have to get things right in order to play 80 minutes. He's done that, he's playing 80 minutes, his confidence is high."That transformation has been a recurring theme in a season in which he's been on a steep learning curve but adapted quickly.story_article_right2When he made his Super Rugby debut against the Stormers in February, Snyman looked every bit as callow as his years in a defeat where the young Bulls team looked like boys against men.The wheel appeared to have come full circle last weekend, when the Bulls avenged a comprehensive defeat with a tight win based on defence. Snyman - who has led the impressive Bulls lineout - played a typically influential part to the point where he was expected to be announced as part of Springbok coach Allister Coetzee's squad last night.Snyman, who says "both" when asked whom he prefers between the legendary Bok locking pair of Bakkies Botha and Victor Matfield, has earned the former's respect."He is definitely the new kid on the block to look out for," recently retired Botha said. "I watched him at Loftus against the Stormers last week and I was so impressed. He is definitely up there. He gets stuck in, he puts in the tackles, he is all over the park and great in the lineout."I would be very surprised if he would not make at least the SA A side. While Allister Coetzee will go for a tested combo like Eben (Etzebeth) and Pieter-Steph (du Toit), Snyman is in top form and undoubtedly a talent for the future."..