Beeno
According to the latest info Daniel in fact weighs 96 kgs (ie in August 2013) - in other words a bit on the light side as a flank. Daniel is too good a player not to play for the Sharks in a substantial percentage of their games this year.
The issue here refers to Daniel - but there is much wider implications as to the Sharks Back Row with much wider immplications for the future national team.
White has made Deysel the vice-captain of the Sharks and there are immediate question marks as to the position of two players in the squad - those two being Alberts and Francois Steyn.
Lets start off with Francois Steyn, One would have thought that with his experience he would be the natural selection as the VC. Even Plumtree made him captain last year at the start of the series - why is he not good enough to be VC this year> White has praised him to high heaven - but there must still be some doubts on the part of White as to whether he can deliver the goods. That and the fact that White clearly said experience means zero when it comes tpo team selection - must ring some alarm bells in his case.
Alberts is a much more difficult problem. He is clearly not the number 1 choice of White at 7 - Deysel will be. That leaves a number of options open, namely -
* to use him at 8
* to use him as a lock
* to put him on the bench
Usage at 8
That is very unlikely - Alberts has a speed deficiency and has proven poor ball handling abilities, * requires carrying the ball and linking up with other players - backline or others - but Alberts is known for t that he virtually never passes balls. I do not think he is the tye of player Meyer will use at 8 - all of Kankowski, Mtembu and Daniel are better options in that case.
Usage as a lock
This may happen on an ad hoc basis if the Sharks has a really major problem with injuries to their locks. Alberts is poor in line-out play - so it is hihj;y unlikely to happen.
Playing from the Bench
The problem here is that Alberts is not an impact player that comes from the bench and through clever and speedy play can make a difference to team performances.
Somehow I do not think White rates Alberts as a loosie. The problem is that Alberts had a very low work rate in Super 15 last year and that was replicated in the Saracens game where he was replaced early after doing the absolute minimum in that game.
What will happen to Francois Steyn and Alberts over the next two months will tell us a very interesting story. Wh at do you think?
