Much cirticism has been expressed by various members aboutthe performances of Bismarck recentky and Strauss was frequently criticized during Super 15.
Some critixcism of Bismarck is justified - his work rate took a dive this year. This may be the result of overplaying by the Sharks and consequential match fatigue.
However, that is not what bothers me abd the topic for this item. It is rather the longer term issues that needs to eb addressed. In this regard it must be borne in mind the following:
* Birmarck is already 30 years old
* Strauss is 29 years old
* Britz is 33 years old.
The question s how much longer will theyproduce top class performances and what happens when they need to be replaced?
I had a good hard look at some of the youngsters coming through and especiallyat the following:-
* Torsten van Jaarsveld - captain of the Cheetahs
* S Marx - the Under 20hooker - injured at present
* Visagie of the Bulls
* Cooper of the Sharks
I was most impressed with Van Jaarsveld and Marx and think that the two top hookers in future in SA will be those two.
