By Jacques van der Westhuyzen in Dublin
By selecting Springbok captain John Smit at hooker for Saturday's season-ending clash against Ireland, coach Peter de Villiers has, to some degree, conceded the experiment with Smit at tighthead prop has failed.
De Villiers insisted late in 2009 that for Smit to prolong his career to the World Cup in 2011 he had no option but to anchor the scrum from tighthead. He was shifted from hooker for the tour of the UK in November 2008 and has since then played all 14 Tests for the Boks as the first-choice tighthead.
While at times he stood up well at scrum-time, former scrumming greats have in the past year suggested Smit move back to hooker.
Continues Below ↓
De Villiers stuck to his guns and continued to pick his leader in the No.3 jersey, even though the scrumming power of the Boks has come under some fierce criticism.
Now, with BJ Botha back in the side - surprising considering he plays out of Ulster - Smit finds himself where he is most comfortable and most influential - in the middle of the front row.
Does this suggest Smit will in future wear the No.2 on his back? And what then does the future hold for the industrious Bismarck du Plessis?
De Villiers was non-committal on Thursday. "Three months ago we had so few options - now look at our good fortune," he said. "We have played our props into the ground so this is a great position to be in."
De Villiers, though, never gave an indication whether Smit's positional switch for Saturday's match would be a permanent one.
But what the change to the front row has done is strengthen the pack ahead of what is a must-win match for the Boks - if they are to cap a great 2009 season in style.
Botha showed in his 20 minutes against Italy last week he remains a force at scrum-time, while Beast Mtawarira is still the best loosehead in the country.
Continues...
|
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Digg
Delicious
Newsvine
Facebook
muti
Twitter
