If the Springboks do play in this year's Rugby Championship in Australia (which depends on overseas travel restrictions being lifted) then they'll need to find a new flyhalf after Handre Pollard picked a knee ligament injury playing for his French club Montpellier.
You can read the story here.
Big blow for the Boks chances if you ask me . . . assuming we play at all of course.
The return of the coward....how nice.
No problem we still have "Chicken" Jantjies to carry the team.
With all the changes in world rugby announced thus far it is possible that the "Goats" will only have to face Zimbabwe, Namibia, Angola, Malawi, Zambia, and Botswana.
Tough rounds as Skarkie and Chillitwat would say.
But in fact, that is about the teams that they will be on par with.
Bosch to me is who I would pick at 10. He has come on leaps and bounds this year. Not sure how long we should stick Jantjies. He is one of those frustrating players. Give him an open game and he will dominate or take the pressure off.
In World Cup pool stages and even during the rugby championship last year he played really well against Australia and Argentina. Hopefully he can continue.
But, please do not select Robert Du Preez, the press has been working over time to make sound like he is the best 10 in the premiership
Besides, not sure I want to play the kiwis this year given how far ahead they are and especially how close their local games has been.
Their north vs south clash was a cracker and had all the drama.
Jantjies is NOT a test level player and failed whenever they tried to use him in that position. Bosch was tried and probably suffer from the same deficiency.. Frans Steyn is NOT a flyhalf and in the WD not used as center against top teams. His career on test level ended with the WC,
The only player that will make the grade is Willemse and the chances are that with proper coaching he would be the one to chose for the longer term. .
Well Saffex, you can say the same thing about George Ford not being big enough, especially getting bull dozed by his former team mate.
I think in SA we are just really lucky to have had physical flyhalves that helps the defence in the 10 channel. But normally you would expect a losie to cover it.
Then, we also have Damien Willemse, but he just doesn't seem to have the right head on his shoulders and very similar in Jantjies mould that they are instinctive players and not generals.
Rassie strategy never uses the 10s as a play maker but all of our play comes off our 9s.
I do think we do ourselves a dis service by not having creative 10s or 12s, but then Willie has been plugging that whole for a long time when stepping into the 10 channel
I'm with Mike on this one.....Jantjies is not Test level. Did he get a run in the WC? His day has come and gone besides if it's to be an experimental side what is there to experiment with him? We all know what he has to offer and what he has to offer doesn't embrace the future.
Either of Bosch and Willemse fits experiment selection unless there's another wunderkind in the pipeline.
ps Kingcob there's a lot of sense in what you say...
Maybe so.....Bosch though might be the answer as next best but to fly with Jantjies??....for what intent and purposes?
If we are going with an emerging team captained by Am it scarcely matters who plays flyhalf.....this is just the latest example of Bok non seriousness.
New Zealand never puts out a team designed to lose....we win a WC and immediately choose a team selected to avoid a real contest.
As for the candidates ......none of them are a future Bok 10....Jantjies is an old loser, the other two are young losers. That’s why Pollard is so crucial to Bok rugby.
Are we over Willemse as a 10?
A bit more flamboyant than Pollard while physically a carbon copy. I rate him and he's yet to hit his prime. He'd be my pick.
Other than that, the only close to like for like swap might be Lionel Cronje.
Jantjies is still our best attacking 10 so no need to swap him out as back up just yet.
The problem with all the above is we had duds for coaches for eleven years and the impact of proper and good coaching eliminates deficiencies and enhances performance. Look no further than Pollard as an example. There is a huge difference between Pollard in 2015 and Pollard in 2019 - all of it hinges on the way he was coached since the new coaching team took over in 2018.
Another example is De Allende who was outstanding in the WC and one of the most effective players in the Springboks backline.in that series.
We have to look at the future and some new blood is essential. The coaching staff will experiment with some players to ensure that we have the best available squad to defend the World Cup in 2023.
What about Van der Walt - he was kept out of the Lions team by Jantjies and is now making hay for Edinburgh? I would prefer him to the nervous wreck Jantjies in the Springbok team.
Saffex, do you think Willemse will develop into a 10 or has he missed that boat.
At 21 he still has a few years to develop.
Although, Pollard had that temperament that a 10 should have from a very young age. The same can be said of Carter, Richie Muanga.
So I'm not sure whether a player like Willemse can develop into our first choice 10.
I'm not saying he can't play there, but more of a cover role for the Boks. In a pinch, he can fill the roll
