Dayimani ready to palm off perceptions

Pigeonholed as a player who spreads his wings in the wide open spaces, Hacjivah Dayimani is desperate to soar above the criticism.

The Stormers loose forward has been one of the team's most consistent performers since his move to the Cape and far from exclusively hogging the tramlines, he has also developed an appetite for close quarters combat.

He needs no reminding perceptions are hard to shift, but Dayimani, who remains as fleet of foot and as dexterous as he was under Swys de Bruin's devil-may-care Lions, is ready to meet the challenge head-on.

Even if he does not possess the physical dimensions of players ahead of him in the Bok queue Dayimani believes he is as effective.

Why, he wonders, does the door need to be kicked down if you can pick the lock?

“There’s a perception in rugby that to be a good ball-carrier you have to run into people,” he said.

“They don’t look at the metres made and the defenders beaten; they look at the physicality of running into players as what makes you a good ball-carrier.

“When I looked at my stats, I always looked at defenders beaten, how many metres I made, and I thought I was a good ball-carrier based on that, but other people think otherwise.

“So, I want to show people I can be in those hot places on the rugby field and I can mix the two to become a complete rugby player.”

There are many layers to the loose forward.

“Rugby is what I do, not who I am,” is more or less his mantra.

Dayimani is a man about town, whether in low-flying Joe Slovo informal settlement or the ascending avenues in leafy Constantia.

This fashionista has sneakers for every terrain, but the truth is his footing wasn't as sure after he arrived in Cape Town.

The grass down south, he once lamented, is always wet which restricted his stepping game.

He was compelled to play close to the heavy traffic.

He has had to alter his game to fit in with the Stormers.

He has had to shift position from No 8 to flank, allowing Evan Roos to take a more direct route from the back of the scrum.

“Based on how the Stormers play, and with Evan Roos in the middle, I was always in the wide channels,” Dayimani said.

“Now the coaches and I have decided that’s where I need to improve because there’s a perception about me that I’m this guy who just wants to be in the wide channels, do the offloads and fancy passing but I shy away when it comes to the hard yards.

“In the games against Zebre, La Rochelle and the Bulls there were a few moments where you’re starting to see that I’m trying to be in the trenches, or where it’s hot, as we call it. It’s part of my game I’m working on and trying to show.”

Dayimani has flexed his muscles as much as he has lengthened his stride at the Stormers.

He has brought a fresh dimension to their back row, especially through his seamless interaction with their speedy backs.

The perception that he is not in the thick of things often enough is not the only one he is trying to challenge.

“I’ve been playing Super Rugby since 2017 and I’ve been an up and coming player for almost eight years,” the 26-year-old suggested a little mischievously.

“I’m trying to change that, that I’m a player to look out for and to break that ceiling. Hopefully, I can reach greater heights.

“If that Bok dream doesn’t come it won’t be the end of the world, I’ll keep improving.”

The Boks have to enter a period of transition. This is the time to step forward, though in Dayimani's case, do so measuredly.