New players that have made an impression and put their hands up for higher honours are:
Stormers:
EW Viljoen at 13 has impressed me the most of all the players – a busy player with plenty of skill, breaks the first line of defence all the time and always looks for the offload
Notshe at 8, not exactly new, has always shown glimpses of promise but is now on fire
Lleyds – have never rated him that much in the past but has been very good for the Stormers
Wilco Louw – the man mountain looks the real deal at tighthead, keeping Malherbe warming the bench. Looks like our answer at 3
Ollie Kebble – have been very impressed with Ollie, looks really fit and I struggle to understand why he is not starting ahead of average Janse v/Rensburg
Du Preez at 10 was very good against the Chiefs – looks like he would equally fit at 12, Dan du Plessis has been very solid at 12
Sharks:
Dan du Preez at 7 has been outstanding
Ruan Botha at 5 started the season very well
Bosch at 10 looks the real deal, not physical enough for 15
Am at 13 like Viljoen, has impressed me big time – looks to attack space all the time and is very busy
Esterhuizen at 12 has come of age, want to see more of the offload though
v/Wyk on the wing has finally delivered on his promise – best wing in the country right now – his move to the Sharks has been the catalyst
Thomas du Toit – been great and should be starting, although Beast has been solid enough.
Bulls:
Odendaal at 12 has been very good a breaking the first line of defence
Ismiel on the wing looks the real deal, always slips tackles
Lions:
Vorster at 13 is another class act, best exponent of the offload
Janse v/Rensburg is a must in the starting Bok side at 12 or 13 depending on who you select the partner him.
Ackerman at 7 is another powerhouse like du Preez at the Sharks
Mrax has been our best hooker by some distance
I like the look of their new 19 year old wing
Cheetahs:
Rhule has been very good on the wing
Established players that have been good thus far are
Stormers:
Kolisi, Etzebeth and PSDT
Sharks:
Coenie (looking leaner than ever), Mtembu and Reinach
Bulls:
Nyakane, Lood and Serfontein
Lions:
Jaco Kriel, Skosan and Coetzee
Cheetahs:
Oupa
Disappointments thus far have been Pollard and Gelant. Both missed most of last year through injury and they are taking their time to get their spark back – it does not help playing in a very underachieving Bulls side. The major issue with the Bulls is the rotation policy which the coach has now acknowledged. I like the fact that the Bulls are wanting to play a more expansive game but Marais is clearly not getting the best out of his players and rotating them each week is the obvious cause. Gelant has been in the side one week, out the next because Jessie Kriel has been wasted at 15. Kriel should only play 13, much like Serfontein should only play 12. But rotation sees Jessie at 15 one week, then 13 the next, Jan at 12 one week, 13 the next…….we see the same at 9, prop, lock and the loosies.
Solid at best this year have been Ulengo, Jessie Kriel, Jenkins, RG Snyman, Kirsten, Pierre Schoeman, Strauss, Nqoboko, Jantjies, Faf, Mostert, Beast, Lewies, Malherbe, Mbonambi, Carr, Akers, Ettienne Oosthuizen, Piet v/Zyl, Lourens Erasmus and Kolbe
