Dave
Who selected that team? On h wole I agree with the selecion bar perhaps Esteruizen whose cotribuion was little and Nel who scored 2 tries for the Stormers playing at 13. .
Moodie's selection I accpet -bt fc is the hole coribtion of Esterhuizen amounted o near to zero.
By the way I expect that the SA squad to play in teUK in November will be available this week and think the squad may be announced this week and suspect the cneters ill be De Allende, Willemse, Am, Moodie and Kriel. Willemse will be selcted as a utility back that would cover more positions in he backline.
As Full Backs it would be Fassie and Willie - the latter being aimed at getting him to the 100 test caps Erasmus announced previously to see Willie reaching the 100 Springboks caps mark after which Willie would be moved to the coachig set up to develop him as future backline coach or dealing with the issues at present the responsibility of Brown - with Willie being aimed at replacing him when his contract expire after the 2027 WC..
After Willie's departure from the team i think Quin Horn of the Lions will probably be succeding Willie at Full Back in future squad. - while Willemse will be retained as Utility back.
.
Just an idea based on various utterances of Erasmus. Erasmus have already moved Vermeulen to the coaching panel and already used Kolisi in that regard during the visit to Argentina this year and aim to make that a permanent situation iro of both Kolisi and Pollard. When he mentioned that Willie should be allowed to earn a hundred caps - it was clear that Erasmus has further plans for using him in the coaching set-up.
I essense Erasmus is moving forward the proper coaching devlopment program in SA as a priority as well. I think that he saw Pollard to play until 2026 and then move him into the ccaching development program and I see the same would ha ppen to Willie much sooner.
As to Quan Horne I do believe that he could become the back up full back wih Fassie being the first choice full back. I also believe that Shaca Feinberg-Mngomezulu will from next year be the first choice flyhalf and that the next step would be a finding by 2026 a back-up flyhalf for him. Have no idea who the back-up would be though, ,
I rate Esterhuizen and I don’t particularly rate Nel. But last weekend Andre had one of the least impressive games I have seen him play. Whereas Nel was clinical. Nel deserves the nod for the week.
At least Louw made the skip pass allowing erwe toscore that only try scored by the Lions. Esterhuien knocked on balls tice and made two really poor passes - and even three the hird one be substandard as well. . Esterhuizen did nothing to warrant anything realy posiive for the Shark. He made nothing that assist anybody in achieving anything during the match.. The fotdy knovk-on cme hen he ws trying to collect a ball bownsing before him and he second when he ws alone at a brekdiwn and knocked the ball om when trying to shieve it at the brekdown/. In bot cases a scrum followed each time.
I think ou Maaik's continued slating of AE is the last stamp of approval Rassie requires to pick him.
I'd prefer Damian Willemse myself but AE would be a pretty good plan B.
Picking Esterhuizen is academic by now because the chances that he'll actually play more than a few token minutes is about zero. Something like 18 tests in what, 7 years? How unlucky for a player of that caliber. Close to a travesty. DDA will stick the 12 spot until retirement and by then AE will be too old. Might as well blood someone new because we don't really have any proven backup at 12 for when DDA and AE goes. Willemse is still mostly an idea as a test 12 rather than a solid proven, and none of the young guns have had test exposure.
Just anorher question - is there anything in Esterhuizen that would at the age of 30 make him an improved performer. e never was a class player performer and never realy stake a claim fo higher honours. So it is not a travesty that he did not play in more tests, His only real chance was to be selecion in the RWC squad for 2019 and he did not make the squad - even when Jesse Kriel was to be replaced Erasmus prefered the younger and less experienced Willemse to be called up.
Esterhuizen was in the alst year fringe player and ahs een that since 2018, He is not going to improve performances at that age and buggered up badly when Ersmus gavehim chance to start in the test against Portugal. That caused him being eft ouof teh Arentina squad and on te same day played for the Sharks - after Erasmus claimed that he had an injury and then ignored him in the team for the Nelspruit test.
In 2021 Esterhuizen played in the Wales test at home - in whcih he played for 80 minutes lost by the Springboks and in the RC match against Argenina he played for 5 minutes, In November 2022 he also played for 80 minites in the away game against Italy. He also play in the first RC match gainst Australia playing for 80 minutes in he RWC in 2023 he played against Tong an Romania or 160 minutes. In 2024 he played against Wales (57 minutes) and Portugal (2 minutes), In aperiod from 2021 to date SA played 36 tests in that period and Estrhuizen played in 9 of them his game time was 465 minutes. in all 18 tests - often against weaker teams - he never scored a single try and was never credited with assistiing in scoring any tries. Bearing in mind that he played in circa 25% of the tests SA played in the period 2021 to 2024 - he enver made any claim to playing mire ften in tests than he acually did,
I think that Estehuizen chance in being part of the November squad will be less than 10% . I think that much younger and more talented players like Kriel or Louw would be more likely get some test time against weaker teams over the next two years - with Willemse bein really the easonale rpacement if De Allende is innjured or retire from Rugby. - he is by ar the top claimant of thr no 12 Jersey
Willemse at #12 is a no brainer.
Williams, SFM, Arendse, Willemse, Moodie/Kriel/Am, Kolbe, Fassi.
Now there's a backline!
Unfortunately there is a huge difference between making an impression at
test level vs club/provincial so saying AE is better than DA is short
sighted as we are yet to see AE replicate his club level impact at test
level
Well AE has never had a prolonged run. He's gotten the odd token one off test. DDA is at over 80 tests, AE at 18 or thereabouts during the same playing period. Who will people be more likely to remember as being good - the guy who they see 10 times a year or the guy they see once or twice a year? AE had two excellent tests last year against Aus and NZ, but then DDA comes back and AE is back to the basement again. No player can stake a claim like that.
Hard for an offloading center, to make an impression when the coach prefers crash ball. Perhaps things are changing now, but what the Hozen does best was never valued by Rasmus..
Isn’t that the real issue?
Perhaps. Guess it's a case of the wrong man at the wrong time. Imagine if AE was 25ish now with DDA on his way out. We would have had an excellent 12 ready and prepped to step into his shoes. Instead they shared the same playing period and there's only room for one.
And Saffolk of course……born at the wrong time.
Yeah. It’s hard going though.
I agree with that.