Chezza
I think people often misread situations when it comes top players. The players often are -
* injury prone and not reliable for selection;
* maligned based on personal prejudice; and
* ignored because of the nasty quota system.
I try and follow NH rugby and has seen for years how players progress, Although Van der Walt was a good flyhalf - he was ignored by the Lions so he rarely played on Super Rugby level. He went to Edinburgh and really showed his promise as a player. He was part of the SA players that took Edinburgh to the European Champions Cup. I saw some of their matches in both that competition and he showed more in one match than Jantjies did for a year.
Goosen is not acceptable by many members on site, but -
* in 2016 he was the Player of the Year in Top 14 rugby in France; and
* after he breached contract with Racing Metro his contract was bought out by Montpellier and he became their first choice flyhalf ahead of Aaron Cruden and Francois Steyn.
If he was so bad why did Montpellier pay Racing Euro 1,5 million to take over his contract? Why is he one of the highest paid SA players in France? I do not think the club owners and coaches in France are utter fools to buy out his cointract and pay him extremely well for his services,
I think that Goosen at his worst is still better than Jantjies at his best. Can you believe it? Jantjies made 7 tackles yesterday and missed 6 - almost on par with Morne making 8 tackles and missing 7 in the Perth test in 2014. One has every right to call Jantjies a defensive sieve.