Cape Town - Adriaan Strauss’ performances in the first two Tests against Ireland have led to widespread discussion about whether he is the best hooker in the country and the right man to captain the Springboks in the Allister Coetzee era.
And rightfully so.
On the field, the Bulls skipper hasn’t exactly exuded the presence and power one would expect from the leader of any side, never mind the Boks. He hasn’t proven that he’s the best hooker in the country when it comes to his basic duties in the line-outs and scrums, and especially not in loose play.
There have even been critics who charge him with incompetence.
In the first Test, Strauss didn’t make much of an impact. His line-out throws were average and he was far behind the standards set by Ireland No 2 and captain Rory Best.
Yes, Best has captained and starred in a team that has been playing together for a few months now and he has worn the captaincy armband for some time, but that doesn’t make it any less true.
Strauss did even less on the field in Johannesburg than he did in Cape Town. He made one decent carry in 80 minutes, he messed up a few line-out throws, and shockingly lost the ball in contact in promising attacking situations.
But Stormers strongman Eben Etzebeth painted a different picture of Strauss’ leadership on Monday when he said that Strauss had been “exceptional” during the break and in the second 40.
He said that Strauss had told them “to just go out there and stick to the gameplan”. He told them that everything would work out. And it did.
Many would argue it wasn’t because of Strauss’ few inspirational words or because he was a workhorse on the pitch, however. Instead, those pundits would assert it was the introduction of a couple of Lions stars that really lifted the Boks.
What intensifies this argument even more, is the fact that South Africa has plenty of other resources at hooker.
There’s Stormers front-rowers Scarra Ntubeni and Bongi Mbonambi.
There’s Malcolm Marx and there’s of course veteran Bismarck du Plessis.
Marx has Test match potential and has shown with the Lions that he deserves a shot. Du Plessis is on fire with French club Montpellier.
Despite a few hiccups, Ngubeni and Mbonambi have also held their own this season.
Despite the criticism of Strauss from various quarters, former Springbok hookers James Dalton and Hinyani Shimange strongly supported him when the Cape Times, spoke to them yesterday.
Said Dalton: “It’s difficult for a player to stand out when the team’s performing poorly.
“He has come into a new era riddled with politics. It’s still early days. Neither Scarra nor Bongi are at any time the best in their province. They’re hot and cold. Their weaknesses have been exposed with the SA A side.
“Marx has a hell of a future, but the same with him. Strauss is overall a very balanced player.
“He’s the most experienced. He may be 20 percent better overall, but I think being captain may bring him off the boil. He is the best and the others have to prove that they’re better.
“Why pick a hooker who isn’t the best in his province to play for the Springboks? Last I remember the Springboks were the elite, so the elite should be selected.”
Shimange concurred, adding: “Allister backs him. He has a lot of caps. People have criticised Francois Pienaar and John Smit. There was a lot of debate around Jean (de Villiers) last year, he was criticised about his form.
“Strauss has potential and he has leadership abilities. We should back him and give him time. He needs to settle and the team needs to settle.
“Give them time.” - The Star