Willemse out Hanekom

like a lot of your posts .............

Dave 

It does make sense in a way.     Erasmsu knew that DeAllende woud be the inside center played in all three matches and after the recent RC matche that th number 8 posdition needs to be strengthened and that Hanekom can also play at 6.    

What needed tstrenthening in sthe short term is he lossie situation and th Dixon also out his choice fell nn Hanekom.     

Aside from that he knew Shaca will be abck next year and so would willemse.   So next year he will have Shaca  as no 1 choice flyhalf and Willesse s back-up 12 available, as well as Roos as a loosie - he also know that Kolisi needs strong support and Wiese is not  the answer at 8.

I see the following prsent frotnline players to be in the 2027 RWC being the follwing - provided that their present performance levels are maintained:-

Tight 5 and loosies   -  Older players Marx, Etzebeth and Du Toit.  The rest would be made up of younger present Springboks  are exising playess already playing for the Springboks and newbies that would come in.

The backline   would be the  following :

9    Williams  and  Hendrickse 

10    Shaca  plus a newbie (maybe Wolhuter)

11    Arendse \with many potential candidates available

12    De Allende and Willemse

13    Moodie plus one of a number other 13's .        

14     Kolbe  with many potential candidates avaiallble

15     Fassie and Hendrikse,  with  Horne  and a number of others .

A  key for backline playes and losies would be to play the new style of rugby Erasmus and  Brown is developing..    

Player development over the next 2 years will be interesting and will lay the bsasis for the 2027 RWC squad,.   Only exceptional players already over 30 this year will be limited to essential players considered to be unreplaceable only if they keep up their present performance - the rest will be a new blend of present younger Springboks and newbies.

Oh come now Jan Pierewiet can do the job.

When Hanekom comes in at 15 I want no excuses that we would have won the game with  a proper fullback..

Haneko is looking t the forward as a loosie -  Fasie and Willie will fill th ful back roll,  Remember Erasmus want to get to play in a hundred tests and he is now at 96,    Hanekm is a star loosie and that is where he will be used with De Allende - regarded by real experts is the best 12 in the world - will be filling the no 12 role in all 3 tests.         

Mpower

Esterhuizen is a dnagerous player to start with - remember the Portugal test.  If thd Springbs have a big lead he ma come on for 5 or so mintes in the second half of gemes,   Esterhuizen lays well on club level - but  has never scored tries in the 18 tests he playes in - even against very weak teams and never even assist in try-scoring on test level.   It will depend on what Bown thinks on that score,

Brown knows from his Super Rugby series in 2014 what AE is capable of and White in that year  tried him out as a loosie - but even on that he failed,   So I dot very much if Brown would find huin usuable in an evironment whee 15 man rugby is played,      So when  Fat Fransie was banned for 5 weeks in 2014 Whitee used Bosman at 12. and Bosman never was test material anyway. 

Finally. Rassie stu mbles upon Cameron Hanekom.

I don't think Hanekom will play the two big tests. He might make the bench for those but he'll start against Wales.

Losing Willemse is huge in terms of the direction our backline will take. I guess we're stuck with DDA and AE.

I believe Erasmus has missed the beat of the drum in not selecting future players. Injury prone RG makes me believe that the squad is screaming for another second rower and the unreliable Libbok leaves the door open to trial a newbie flyhalf and last but not least there is a need to trial a newbie inside centre. All key spots crying out for attention in the limited space of two years.

I think that Erasmus has already indicated that the newbie lock would be Nortje and there are ohers like Van Heerden, and Schickerling that will come into te picture next year as well.   I hink the situationas to Willemse at 12 is aso envisaged and  you mst rmamber that Shaca Feinberg Mngomezulu is already the first choice flyhalf,  

New Training camps will take place in May and June 2025 and we will then see who are invited nd whowill qualify for selecion.   That is the time when we will really see what the impact of Brown - appointed after the 2024 camps were held - will be when it ccmes to newbies invitees to te cmaps.

I would ot be usrprised if Libbok is replaced by Wolhuter when it comes to future flyhalf selections to support Shaca as back-up.   

I want to remind you that about two years ago I started talking in site of Shaca as future Springbok flyhalf when nobody on site even knew about his existence - so my remarks of Wolhuter also falls in that category. as well.   

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Spot on Saffex.

Np dim, doos Rooinek - I saw him playing in teh 2022  Under 20 WC series and said he is a star flyhalf and player.   I said tht on sie a nuber of times and last year repeated my remarks.  I did not discover him - he becam Erasmuss's protegee and his father spoke on the phone tohim when he was injured and enccoruaged him to be patient and make sure he recovers full from the injury and said his time will come in 2024 to play for the Springboks.   You dimness did not evn know he existed when I wroe about him in 2022.   

I look at players from a ball skills and ball sense perpective.   Yo do not eve know what those to terms entail - so ignorance is bliss,  when it coemes to you.   Masku is nt a flyhalfs arse anyway - he canntor ead games and has no bal sense anyway.   

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Hahahahaha. Mike putting the dimness in his place. 

Nice to see Rassie reacting so well to these injuries. 

As to the props 5 props one of whom (Du Toit) can play both sides is adequate and hence no prop replacement re Malherbe. No time zone problem so getting in a prop replacement if needed should be easy.

Locks. Always remember oaks Du Toit is actually a very good lock as well as a great 7. 

Touring squad look strong with some interesting new blood. 

We are of course in capable hands. 

Ignorant oaks with dismal IQs should realize that they don't have the knowledge or ability to assess Rassie. Accept it that Rassie is way beyond you. Bwahahahahaha.