Lions, Reds looking to get best out of No 10s

Published Mar 16, 2017

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JOHANNESBURG - More steady than stupendous. That’s how much-hyped flyhalves Elton Jantjies and Quade Cooper have performed so far in this season’s Super Rugby competition.

One of them though will trump the other when the Lions and Reds meet at Ellis Park in a round four match on Saturday.

And, it’s not far fetched to suggest that both men will play a pivotal role for their teams after both outfits suffered defeats last-time out.

The Lions go into the game on the back of a hammering by the Jaguares in Buenos Aires, albeit with a weakened team, but a confidence-busting defeat nonetheless, while the Reds were shocked late on in their game by the multiple title-winning Crusaders, in Brisbane to boot.

It’s time then for both to hit back immediately and pick up a win, something the Lions will be favoured to do because they’re at home - a place where they nowadays rarely lose - but writing off the Reds would be extremely foolish. The reality is both the Lions and the Reds are in a similar sort of position after three rounds of action - they’ve been decent enough, but haven’t been wholly convincing so far, much like their No 10s who’ll go head to head on Saturday.

The Lions are two from three: they struggled to down the Cheetahs (28-25), they looked impressive against the Waratahs (55-36), and then they lost to the Jaguares (24-36). The Reds started with a close shave against the Sharks (28-26), but then lost their next two games, against the Force (19-26, away) and Crusaders (20-22, home).

Again, as is so often the case, how the Lions and Reds perform on Saturday evening will depend on how well, or poorly, Jantjies and Cooper perform.

Neither has hit the form they are known for, with Jantjies showing glimpses of his potential against the Waratahs, but he will want a big performance this weekend, especially with the Bulls’ Handre Pollard, earmarked as the Boks’ first choice No 10, struggling for form, and Pat Lambie again on the injured list.

Also, after the disaster of the Boks last year, an international offering in which Jantjies was heavily involved, the Lions flyhalf will be keen to show that in the right environment and with the right players around him he is good enough to do the business at Test level. Cooper, standing opposite him, will provide the perfect test for him; a challenge he will relish.

The Reds man, too, despite his more than 60 Tests for the Wallabies, will be hoping to regain the form that made him such a sensational game-changing player a few years ago. There was a time when Cooper, with his behind-the-back passes, chip-kicks and dummies, was the hottest No 10 on the planet. He is far from that now but his trickery is surely still stored away somewhere in his head and it’s surely just a matter of time before he flourishes once again.

It’s still early in the 2017 season and Jantjies didn’t even play against the Jaguares last week, but in professional sport there is no time to waste, and every match is an opportunity to show off your talents and be the match-winner, and the two flyhalves doing business on Friday will be acutely aware they have a big part to play.

They’re exciting protagonists who have the class to mesmerise opponents - and the fans - but like all men who’re deemed to have the X-factor, they can also get it horribly wrong on the day. Which Jantjies and Cooper will we see on Saturday?

Cape Argus

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