There are a couple of particular issues of note that should be taken into account by him insofar as the rest of theRC is concerned, Those are -
* that the center combination is not what can win matches consistently;
* that there are serious problems with the loosie combination; and
* the lock combination did not work as required.
The center combination
Esterhuizen looked good when he made line breaks, but what happened then - zero in effect, The Argntinians ended up with the ball after each of the line breaks. For the rest he handled the ball 16 times and passed the ball 3 times and off-loaded it twice. That does not make for any positive contribution and in fact it represents a classical case of ball hogging, The other problem is his defense - he is too pace-deficient to be a good defender. His tackle count in all tests in which he played was low and ineffective.
To give an example in the two English tests De Allende played in he made 18 tackles missing 1 and conceeding 2 turnovers. In the four tests Esterhuizen played in he made the following:-
Tackles made - 5 + 4 + 9 + 4 = 22
Tackles missed - 0 + 3 + 1 + 1 = 5
Turnovers - 2 + 1 + 2 = 5
The average number of tackles made in the four tests are 5,5 tackles per match. The missed tackle ratio for the above 4 tests is 18,51%
Taking into account the number of games played and the above - it is clear that Esterhuizen's defense is not up to standard, The reason for that is clear - he is too pace-deficient to be a successful tackler.
On the other hand Am's defense is better - but he carries no punch in attacking play.
The other problem is that Esterhuizen played in four tests - three of them were lost matches.
I am afraid he is on the way out. The center positions will in future be filled by -
12 De Allende - back-up - Serfontein
13 Kriel - back-up - Am
The Loosie combination
I have always maintained that the loosie combination is the real weakness in the team. Fact is -
* that Whiteley is not physically up to standard;
* that Louw is not what he used to be and even though he tried to raise his performance level on Saturday his defense was atrocious. In the two tests he made 15 tackles missing 6 - just not good enough.
* Kolisi - there is nothing Erasmus can do about him. He showed some life yesterday - but is it going to last?
Erasmus must have been bitterly disappointed in Whiteley - he instructed Vermeulen to return to the squad before the Wellington test and I would not be surprised for all four the remaining matches.
I think that it is a foregone conclusion that Kolisi will be moved back to 6 and Du Toit will start at 7. It is likely that van Staden would be the back-up loosie on the bench.
The Lock combination
After a brilliant return test - Etzebeth was anything but good yesterday - fact is he was poor. There could be a reason for that - he was off for 10 month and the previous test was his return test. There could still be lingering match fitness problems in his case.
However, the problem case is Mostert - he was sub-standard yesterday and I am afraid he failed the test because of deficient physicality. The solution would be to start with Etzebeth and Snyman - and hope for the early return of De Jager from injury. I would rather use Schickerling as a back-up lock at present.
