10 and 15 for the Boks explored

After 7 rounds of the Super 14 we’ve had quite a lot of time to look at some of the form players in the South African contingent.

The key area for most people are around flyhalf and full-back which are two positions likely to be up for consideration in the Bok setup later this year.

Flyhalf
Morne Steyn (Bulls) – No question he has been the best South African flyhalf on display and barring an injury he will be the one who wears the Number 10 jersey. The big question is who will be his backup.

Peter Grant (Stormers) – Grant has been solid, consistent and importantly he has shown a desire to attack the gain line. He’s striking up a good relationship with Juan de Jongh and Jaque Fourie. Personally I think he is a little underrated as a goalkicker but I’m in the minority.

Burton Francis (Lions) – Don’t underestimate the performance of Francis who is quickly showing up Carlos Spencer in the Lions number 10 jersey. Nothing has gone right for the Lions this season and yet commentators have remarked about the performance of Francis. I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes a surprise inclusion in some of the Bok training squads this year.

Naas Olivier (Cheetahs) – The Cheetahs haven’t had it easy and have been on the backfoot for a lot of the tournament. Olivier has actually surprised this year and put in a pretty handy performance. I actually thought that Olivier and Meyer Bosman have been a good combination at 10 / 12 but while the latter might be in with a shout for the Boks, Olivier will not likely to step up beyond the Super 14.

Ruan Pienaar (Sharks) – The reluctant flyhalf. He does it because he and the Sharks are desperate for a decent number 10. Pienaar will always be there or there-abouts for the Boks because of his versatility but he just doesn’t seem to have “clicked” as the number 10.

Fullback
Zane Kirchner (Bulls) – We know Kirchner is good and must be the favourite to wear the number 15 jersey this year. However the Bulls defence has been leaky at times and not always the best organised. They’ve had no problems on attack but it doesn’t help if you’re letting in opposition runners.

Joe Pietersen (Stormers) – Having a golden season this year. Good with the boot, fantastic on attack. Kirchener may have the inside track but Pietersen has shown he can mix it with the best of them.

No representative (Lions) – there has been a bit of a revolving door at the Lions and nobody can seriously be considered in the running here.

Hennie Daniller (Cheetahs) – With that square jaw, Daniller is the poster boy of Free State rugby. Another under-rated player but one can’t see him fitting the mould of a Bok this year.

Patrick Lambie (Sharks) – While Stefan Terblanche would probably be the first choice fullback, Lambie appears to be an interesting prospect… earlier days yet.

Foreign players...

... it's interesting - at the start of the 2009 Super 14 season and post the Rugby World Cup, a lot of noise was made about the outflow of quality players into the big money European leagues. If all was to be believed, South Africa was facing a MASSIVE talent drain....

A few rounds left in the Super 14 and we've got two of the top four teams on the table.

In contrast South Africa has effectively had two "foreigners" in our ranks - Sireli Naqelevuki and Todd Clever.

As a Stormers fan, I've been very unhappy with the performance of Naqelevuki and I have no idea what he has done to enjoy regular starts for us - yes injuries have been a problem but he just looks like he has no interest.

Todd Clever (Cleaver?) has been a really valuable addition to the Lions lineup - plenty of enthusiasm and some nice skill as well - an example of foreign talent boosting a local franchise.

Next year, I believe that Peter Grant has been considered for the Force so that will be another guy going out... wonder whether there will be any big name foreign signings for the local franchises.

Flyhalf dilemma

While I appreciate it is something of an experimental squad, the selections for flyhalf for the Bok UK tour are baffling.

The logic of picking a scrumhalf (Ruan Pienaar) who has said he doesn't want to play flyhalf as your first choice and a guy who battles to make the first choice for the Lions (Earl Rose) as his backup his curious to say the least.

I appreciate that Eddie Jones and Jake White both believe that Pienaar has what it takes to be a world class flyhalf and we have a lack of any real depth in the position but if you want him as a flyhalf, the player and his province have to buy into it.

Peter Grant and Morne Steyn might not be the next Dan Carter but they're the kind of players who COULD fit the mould of a make shift Bok flyhalf. Steyn in particular has played his part helping the Bulls to the finals. Maybe he should have been rewarded for his efforts.

Well I guess we'll have to see what the team produces on tour....

The squad is as below:
Bakkies Botha, Fourie du Preez, Bryan Habana, Chiliboy Ralepele, Danie Rossouw, Pierre Spies, Gurthro Steenkamp, Jongi Nokwe, Juan Smith, Andries Bekker, Schalk Burger, Jean de Villiers, Conrad Jantjes, Ricky Januarie, Brian Mujati, Heinrich Brussow, Jaque Fourie, Earl Rose, Victor Matfield, John Smit (c), Odwa Ndungane, JP Pietersen, Adrian Jacobs, Bismark du Plessis, Frans Steyn, Ruan Pienaar, Tendai Mtwarira, Ryan Kankowski.

Earl Rose

I’ve been reading a lot of commentary about Earl Rose in recent weeks. Specifically about how he has the ability to combine the sublime with the ridiculous and how his ball skills have made him a shoe-in for the end of season Springbok touring side.

At present, Rose is currently the top points-scorer and he has been part of a Lions squad that seems to have rejuvenated itself since the start of the season. The question is – how much has Rose contributed to this revolution and how much has he cost the Lions this season… and ultimately is he good enough to be the Springbok flyhalf?

Upfront I’m going to make it clear – I didn’t like Rose when he was at Western Province / Stormers and I personally believe that Rose cost the Lions in the Super 14. Do I think he cost the Lions yesterday against the Sharks in the Currie Cup? ABSOLUTELY…

That try for the Sharks where Rose aimlessly kicked it into the charging Sharks backline should be enough to confirm why he should not be selected to play for the Springbok side.

Of course mistakes happen and players make the wrong choices – but with Rose they seem to happen too often in the big games. The choices to run from behind his own goal line or attempts to try and outmuscle some of the worlds’ best flankers or kick into some of the worlds best backline players are mistakes he makes on a regular basis – composure is everything for a flyhalf.

One also has to look at the way Rose plays when considering whether he would be suitable for a Springbok place. I know that Pieter Devilliers is a bit of a fan of his, but ‘Div’ also needs to consider whether or not Rose will actually get a backline firing or not.

Whoever ends up being the Bok flyhalf will be fortunate to have two of Jacques Fourie, Jean Devilliers, AD Jacobs and Frans Steyn outside them – muscular, game breaking centres…

They don’t need a flyhalf who is going to try and be a picture of creative flair. This is why Butch James and Peter Grant fit so well into this system. Both are solid defenders and can take the contact and both (in theory) try and do the basics right.

At the end of the day, as a coach, you have to use what you have. If you don’t have a Dan Carter in your backline to get it firing but you have some super creative centres – then this is where your backline play can come from. There is no point trying to make a player fit a game plan that isn’t there.

Experimenting is great but rather experiment with what you have rather than move away from the game plan that plays to your strengths.