Willemse

Looks to me like he's the best option for skipper once Siya goes.

And I can't say I'm angry about it. 

Whether he's picked for skipper or not, he's gonna be the dominant personality in the backline for a good while. 

Another thing that I'm not angry about. Though, I do hope he has an aptitude for mentorship. 

Boys, if this Kiwi coach is allowed some freedom, we might see some deadly shit from the Boks in the coming years. Will Willemse be his general? Perhaps getting him in was a signal of where Rassie might wanna go. And it makes sense because he's kinda proved he can do it twice by dominating up front. 

Is he narcissistic enough to be thinking about his autobiography and being able to say that for the 3rd win, he wanted to show the Boks could do it with backline play? Haha I hope so.

Just saying, our backline is looking tasty. I mean, right!? The names on there would walk into most teams. 

For this to work we do need one creative player who sees the opportunity and creates tries rather than just showcasing his talent.

Somebody like du Pont, Mo’unga, Sexton, Finn Russell or Kerevi.

To me the closest thing is Esterhozen. Our other brilliant backs, seem to exploit space rather than create it.

Libbok sometimes looks like that player. Much is made of his cross kick in the French game, but with the overlap that existed, passing the ball was a much better option. Still he could blossom under Brown….as could Willemse who is another candidate for 12.

It’s not negotiable, if we don’t find that player, our attacking leader,  the hoped for transition will always be opportunistic rather than programmed.. 

Kerevi ???

The obvious creative players are Libbok and Willemse, definitely not Esterhuizen and besides Esterhuizen turns 30 this year

Willie was our master at creating for others - Willemse and Libbok have that in them, so does Gelant

Esterhozen may be the best offloading center in rugby….he was the player who made Twickenham happen.

Willemse does have it in him to create that necessary space….Kurt-Lee,s try against England is a a example of Willemse creating…Esterhozen is definitely up there and with the input of Brown these guys will flourish…

Mozart

He is also the center with poor ball skills and more likely to lose balls in breakdowns - while the rest of his performance - defense and breakdown ball protection is inadequate.     He had ample opportunities to prove himself - but the best he could come up with is a fringe player. 

Willemse is the best future inside center we have and I said that years ago - while the rest of the site idiots claimed he is useless.    He definitely  is a thinking player and not as non-thinking as Esterhuizen is.      

Yeah but you can’t rely on the offload as your creative tool - you need a player with the gift to scan, pause, identify opportunities and then execute to create for those around him.

DuPont is the master at this, Willie was for the Boks, Russell is for Scotland

Willemse and Libbok have elements of this

Esterhuizen and the offload is more of an individual, narrow vision tool to keep the attack alive whereas the creativity Im on about is more for the team as a whole - it’s a wider vision

It’s why France are struggling right now - their creator has gone awol

What about Moodie at 12? He has shown the potential to be very good there….but maybe also more a player that exploits the space rather then create it? Sascha Feinberg, although he is a bit on the small size, another one with the ability to create….plenty potential play makers.

Moodie looks more of a finisher so 13 is ideal for him

I really like the look of Sacha - he looks set to be the real deal - he glides

Flyhalf looks his best option but potentially 12 if he muscles up a bit.

He certainly has the frame and is already a respectable 94kg

Brown will love working with Fassi , Arendse, Green, Moodie, Willemse, David Kriel, Libbok, Sacha, Williams, Nohamba and Hendrikse

I think space should be made for Henco van Wyk to….what a talent at 13.

A good Question would be, why has Rassie not picked Tyrone Green??? Is it a transformation thing or what?? The guy is good enough and only 25.

Yeah Henco v Wyk looks good seems to always bust the first tackle and is a good defender

He is a similar kind of player to Jessie Kriel whereas Moodie is more like Am. They are just naturally gifted talents - they glide, they are smooth, great rugby brains

Kriel and v Wyk lack that finesse but they work

I reckon Green will struggle to get into the Bok side as he is white and would probably have to compete for a spot on the wing. It’s sad, I would not be surprised to see him capped by England soon once he is eligible after 5 years which will be in 2025

The same counts for Tambwe who has a desire to play test Rugby for the Boks, but somehow his SA Passport has not been sorted out yet….a guy like that with 9 tries in 19 appearances for Bordeaux Begles, can easily be capped by France.

I'm totally on board with AE at 12. 

Manie, Moodie, Willemse, and Arendse are all very opportunistic players. All quick, all with great hands, and all look to keep the momentum rolling on a break. A guy who can cause some chaos and get the odd offload away is exactly what those types of players need. 

The try Willemse created against England was exactly the type of try these guys score. They explode from relatively benign situations. Take Moodie's non-score against the ABs too. From nowhere suddenly the defence is scrambling to no effect. 

When you have guys that can explode like that, for me, you need someone that can light the fuse. And AE does tick that box.

Rugby these days are played more like rugby league, flat passes and deceptive and Obstructive running. Ireland seems to get a free pass on this. I hate the fact that you can pass behind players. 

Then, there are no space to attack much with ball in hand unless you are like the bulls that don't defend either. 

I do believe we have the players. But Willemse really frustrate me. Just watched a highlight real of him. He always tries to step players and then try to off load when he gets caught. Fantastic runner with ball in hand. But he doesn't ever show how to run deceptive lines, his passing game is really poor. Neither does he command the team.

Esterhuizen turns 30 this year no point

We need to find the next young 12

Willemse or David Kriel for me

We also need to get Rickus Pretorious back playing in SA

Agreed on the age issue…it would be best to find that new young 12….Rikus by all means and he has played 12 or 13 already….very gifted player with a all round skill set.

David Kriel looks solid, but defence might be a issue?

Sometimes I wish we can leave voice messages on here : )

David Kriel is a big guy at over 100kg or thereabouts. Same build and similar player to Jordie Barrett.

Runs good lines, has a great offload. Seems to easily slip tackles. His defence is good.

He also adds that utility element given he is equally at home at 12, 13 and 15

He has really impressed me at 12 for the Bulls - keeping the likes of Hendricks and Vorster out of the starting side

Yes he is also tall at 1,95 m 99 kg and Rickus is 1,93m at 102 kg…imagine those two as a Center pairing : )

I want to see Jake play David Kriel at 12 and Moodie at 13 for the Bulls but chances are the fool will stick with Gans at 13 and play Moodie on the wing

Really frustrating

I’d like to see this backline in the very near future

15. Fassi

14. Tambwe

13. Moodie

12. Willemse

11. Arendse

10. Pollard

9. Williams

21. Nohamba

22. Libbok

23. David Kriel

Too many welterweights............ JordieB's about 6'5"

AE  for me

Moodie and Willemse are not small guys. But they can't carry the physical game. Arendse and Kolbe are midgets. So a large 12 is kinda non-negotiable.

Esterhuisen will be 33 come 27 WC and hopefully in good condition …but a Young playmaker 12 is needed to slot in place seamlessly…DA will be 36 and maybe he will still feature, who knows with Rassie …Hopefully there is some surprises in player selection this season.

Esterhuizen is too old now we need a younger investment at 12

With David Kriel (100kg) and Rickus Pretorious (104kg) we have physicality

But I fancy the idea of a Willemse/ Moodie centre combo

Willemse is a tough nut and I’m guessing these days he must be over 95kg closer to 100kg as he has definitely muscled up and likes the physical stuff. We would want him to attack space as much as possible but take it up in traffic when need be - obviously he won’t be as effective as DA or Esterhuizen taking it up but has a good offload on him so it’s a case of changing our mode of attack a little

I’m also hoping the currently injured SA schools inside sensation 19 year old Bruce Sherwood breaks the big time soon. He has already featured for the WP senior side.

Our new Jean de Villiers but even more skilful. He is a big physical unit as well with plenty of skill

I see fucking Jake has Moodie on the wing again this weekend

Idiot

I have to comment that all of the players of colour that Saffex has listed are merit players. I can't call a single one of those players a quota. Nor can I say whether a white player has been over looked. We have a great system and even better culture. Just hope it continues to prove that there is room for everyone. Just need to get rid of the ANC

Spot on King - our rugby has got it so right we can’t say the same for our cricket

There were instances in the early days where we sold ourselves short because of quotas. But we are way in positive territory now. The emergence of backline talent is awesome.

Impressive list of merit non white players:

Fullbacks:

Gelant / Fassi

Wings:

Mapimpi / Kolbe / Nkosi / Tambwe / Zas / Arendse / Skosan / Senatla / Sergel Petersen / Davids / Jacobs / Maxwane / Edwil vd Merwe / Ismiel / Rhule / Lleyds / Penxe / Dyantyi/ Pienaar

Centres:

Am / Moodie / Willemse / Similane / Gans / Xamlashe / Hartzenberg / Lorenzo Julius

Flyhalves:

Jantjies / Libbok / Lombard / Hendrikse / Sacha

Scrumhalves:

Williams / Jantjies / Papier / Hendrikse / Nohamba

Props:

Nyakane / Ox / Matanzima / Ntlabakayne / Mchunu x 2 / Nqoboko / Sandi

Hookers:

Mbonambi / Dweba / Mbatha / Scara

Locks:

Moerat

Loosies:

Kolisi / Buthelezi / Xaba / Vincent Tsituka / Emmanuel Tsituka / Carr / Notshe / Dayamani / Augustus / Gumede / Morabe / Sangweni / Oupa

65 players the majority of which would not let a test side down and some of which are close if not the best in their respective positions not only in SA but in the game as a whole