We might not always realise this, but the Quota,s play a big role. And Rassie must adhere to these rules i think…I would really like to see Jurie Mathee there.
He is a descent Flyhalf and performs consistently for the stormers.
Locks alone we have Ruan vermaak, Reinhardt Ludwig, Ruben V Heerden, Corne Rahl. Adre Smith etc.
So many players that will make a impact on Bok level is being overlooked….Henco van Wyk, Rikus Pretorius and David Kriel.
I do like Cheslin and Arendse, but they bit on the light side…. We need a bit more beef on the wings. Like a Duhan V D Merwe.
Most of these guys are the wrong colour. Sometimes it’s not always possible to make it 50/50 .
But it’s forced and then you end up with players that is not there on Merit. Look I get it, those Apartheid days was kak for Blacks players ….
I know how They must of felt and not only in sport…..Horrible .
But mostly now it can and should be equal. Or should whites still be punished??
I don’t think that is necessary….
kingcorn
Senior player
2764 posts
I just saw that Hendrikse was included in the squad to replace Flab Malharbe after slipping on a Big Mac. He was only involved in one test this year against Wales, which was the only game he played. The good news is that the boks won, but it also wasn't polished performance.
He's had some notable performances at Currie Cup and in the URC and proofing to be a clutch kicker that can kick penalty goals well beyond the half way line and under pressure and in poor conditions. He has broaden his positional play by starting at 15 this season, previously he played at 12 for the lions and then in recent games help the Sharks to two victories at 10. So he fits the mould of Willemse and Sasha, but his best position is probably 10.
It made me think how many boks survived their debut or re-admission to the team when the played Wales.
The Du Preez brothers played against Wales back in 2017 in the USA, but the boks lost. Rassie used this games to test players and put a scratch team together that never played together. On this occasion, not many survived.
Robert Du Preez will probably never see a game again for the boks. The Creatine twins were invited to training camps but didn't feature either.
Then we had another disaster playing Wales at home which we lost and the likes of Marcel Coetzee who I believed should have been picked to replace Francious Louw as he could cover all 3 positions and didn't put a foot wrong. Wilco Louw was another player that struggled to get a look in.
For the end of year tour, Rassie has picked his strongest squad and I don't think he is going to mess with it too much as he wants to put a message across to the northern teams. Pity we are not playing Ireland and we could have made a run at the Grand Slam.
But, my question, how many players failed in their test against Wales. Was Wales the right test for Rassie to throw them into the deep end? Wales 6 years ago were a tough team. Hard to break down and we beat them by one point. After the World Cup the collapsed and weren't the same team. Yet, we still manage to lose to them.
The last game we played earlier this year at Twickenham was probably the weakest Welsh team we have played in a long time. So maybe Hendrikse go lucky. But so many other potential boks players were never looked at again.
Did Rassie do them Justice, was it the right approach?