Flyhalf poser for Bok coach

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Elton Jantjies and Patrick Lambie are currently the only two options Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer has left  after earlier having four contenders  as the Test against Italy in Durban looms.

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It wasn’t too long ago that the flyhalves in this country were queuing up to wear the Springbok No 10 jersey: Morne Steyn, Johan Goosen, Pat Lambie and Elton Jantjies.

Everyone from Mark to John to Mary had their favourite – and gave vaild reasons for why he should be the first choice – and national head coach Heyneke Meyer had the difficult job of having to make the decision. Steyn was his first choice, but when his form went belly-up, Goosen was rushed back from injury and given his turn before he got injured. Jantjies and Lambie played musical chairs for a few games and then in November Lambie was installed as the first choice.

He played at flyhalf in all three Tests on that tour and did a very good job. Even Meyer was impressed and by the end of the tour, in which the Boks were unbeaten, he lauded the baby-faced Sharks man, saying he would enter the 2013 season as the man in line to wear the Bok No 10 shirt.

Fast forward to today and it seems Meyer no longer has the luxury of insurance at flyhalf. The very healthy No 10 list of a few months ago has been cut in half, the only candidates left standing being Lambie and Jantjies.

There are just under three months to go before national head coach Heyneke Meyer has to go into battle for the first time in 2013 – against Italy in Durban – and it would appear it’s going to be a straight shoot-out between Lambie and Jantjies for the No 10; a situation that’s very different to this time last year.

First, Goosen is out for the entire season having injured the cruciate ligaments in his knee, meaning he will spend the next nine months on the sidelines. And, second, with veteran Bulls man Steyn heading to France at the end of the current Super Rugby season and unlikely to be available for Bok selection, Meyer has Lambie and Jantjies to pick from.

Of course, Steyn’s decision to leave South Africa would have come after consulting Meyer about his chances of playing for the Boks, but he would have probably been told that the Bok head coach was looking to invest in the younger men, not knowing Goosen – reportedly Meyer’s first choice flyhalf – would get injured so early in the season.

Complicating matters even further for the Bok coach is the fact Jantjies hasn’t started the year at all well, putting in a few very average performances at his new team, the Stormers.

That leaves Lambie, a player who never seems to be out of form or at a loss for confidence and now that he’s being backed at flyhalf – and not doing the constant flyhalf-fullback-flyhalf-fullback switching – he seems a very settled player. His goal-kicking has also improved in the last few months so at this stage Meyer will be pleased with the Sharks man’s form.

Of course, Meyer will be desperate to see Jantjies regain confidence and form but if Stormers boss Allister Coetzee is forced into a corner because his team aren’t performing well, he’ll have no choice but pick Peter Grant at No 10, a player who’s delivered the goods for him and his team before. That scenario would do Jantjies no good but, as we know, winning is all that matters in rugby.

There is still a long way to go before the Boks are in action for the first time this year, and Steyn’s decision to move to France doesn’t necessarily rule him out of Bok contention, but Meyer will be praying that Lambie doesn’t get hurt any time soon. - The Star