It is just 18 days before the first Springbok Test of the year against Italy in Durban, and with Francois Hougaard missing a large part of the Super Rugby season due to injury, who will coach Heyneke Meyer pick at scrumhalf for the June Tests?
I think most observers would agree that Morné Steyn has been the form South African flyhalf in the competition up to now, and should reclaim the No 10 jersey from Patrick Lambie for the games against Italy, Scotland and possibly Samoa next month.
Lambie has strangely been off his game in the last while and has failed to take charge of the Sharks’ attack, which has coincided with a five-game losing streak that ended with victory over the Force at the weekend in Perth.
So, with Steyn at flyhalf, which of his Bulls halfback partners should be alongside him in the green-and-gold? I think Jano Vermaak deserves a chance to finally make his Test debut against Italy. Vermaak has been part of the Bok squad ever since Meyer became coach last year, but has yet to take to the field in a match.
He has been in outstanding form for the Bulls in their surge to the top of the South African conference in Super Rugby. What makes him such a good player is the fact that he doesn’t commit many mistakes in his basic functions of passing and kicking. He provides a smooth service from the rucks and kicks accurately out of hand, while he is superb on cover defence.
Those are skills most scrumhalves should have if they hope to play Currie Cup and Super Rugby, let alone at Test level, but those are attributes that are in short supply among local scrumhalves.
The Cheetahs’ Sarel Pretorius is brilliant when he breaks around the fringes, but he has a poor pass and an average kicking game, while the Stormers’ Dewaldt Duvenage is a good defender and has a sharp pass, but his box kicks are either too short or too long, and he lacks that spark in broken play.
That’s what sets Vermaak apart. Not only does he do the basics well while holding down a low error-rate, the 28-year-old is able to break the game open with his vision and speed. He has made a number of clean breaks for the Bulls this season, and again scored a wonderful solo try against the Highlanders at the weekend by cutting through the defence.
He is actually someone that the struggling Stormers could do with!
Meyer preferred Ruan Pienaar, who plays for Ulster in Ireland, for most of 2012, and while Pienaar is an experienced Test player with a remarkable 63 caps, he wasn’t able to be that standout scrumhalf that someone like Hougaard has been when he is at his best.
Pienaar is solid but unspectacular, and his kicking game – which is a big part of the Bok gameplan – is also a bit inaccurate as his kicks often go too far.
Hougaard will have to bide his time after only coming back last week from an ankle injury that has kept him out since March. If he plays well in the next few games, he may just force his way on to the bench for the June Tests, as he certainly offers more to the Boks than Pienaar.
But the soft-spoken Vermaak, who has patiently waited for a chance to make his Test debut after injury perhaps stalled his Bok debut during the Peter de Villiers era, shouldn’t have to wear the Bok blazer on his arm too much longer.
TWEET OF THE WEEK
@Pat_Cilliers: Probably our worst performance of the year. Can’t change the past, need to step it up. #stormsaam
WHO TO FOLLOW
@IzzyFolau: The Waratahs fullback has been called up to the Wallaby squad for the first time for the series against the British and Irish Lions.
w Follow Ashfak Mohamed on Twitter: @ashfakmohamed
w Send us your views – [email protected] - Cape Times