Best of the rest
18 Nov 2009
Dewald Potgieter and Adriaan Strauss are but two players who have benefited from the midweek exercise.
The Springbok management confirmed on Wednesday that Potgieter, Jean Deysel, Francois Hougaard and Jongi Nokwe will remain in addition to the 22 players that were named for the Toulouse match. Three players were initially expected to stay behind, but Schalk Burger’s rib niggle has gifted Dewald Potgieter an opportunity.
Some late changes were made for the Saracens match suggesting Danie Rossouw may well start at blindside flank in Saturday’s Test against Italy. In that event, one of Deysel or Potgieter could win their first Test cap from the bench.
Potgieter stood out for the losing South Africans at Wembley. He carried the ball strongly and was omnipresent on defence. There have been questions about his size but he’s proved it’s not a factor, and he wouldn’t be out of place on the Test circuit.
Strauss is another who deserves more opportunities in a Springbok jersey. A late call-up after Chiliboy Ralepelle cried off with injury, he’s shown why he should have been there all along.
Midweek coach Dick Muir said the dirt-tracker exercise had been a fruitful one despite the two defeats. He said they now know who can make the step up, and who doesn’t have a future beyond the Currie Cup or Super 14.
Jongi Nokwe looked dangerous every time he got the ball while Juan de Jongh defended bravely and troubled the Saracens defence even though he usually received possession on the back foot. Heini Adams also shone even though he was playing behind a losing pack, and Odwa Ndungane was typically solid.
The biggest improvement award goes to Earl Rose, whose confidence seemed to grow as the Saracens match progressed. Rose’s critics got an insight into what this player is capable of when he has his tail up, and why Peter de Villiers has such faith in him. The trick is finding a way to maintain that level of brilliance, because as we all know, when Rose has a bad day, he has a nightmare.
It’s unfair to judge Heinke van der Merwe given he was asked to switch to tighthead, but there are players that disappointed. He’s not officially a dirt-tracker, but Ruan Pienaar seems to have lost all form and confidence. His kicking out of hand has been average, and his goal-kicking has been wayward. Derick Hougaard also missed several scoring opportunities on Tuesday, but who knows, had Pienaar converted the penalty and conversion he missed, the South Africans would have had their first win of the tour.
Addressing the bad run of three defeats on this tour, the senior Boks will be affected. A gritty win would have seen the Boks head into the Italy game with more confidence, which is important as they need to win well in Udine in preparation for the Irish a week later.
The Test side will be announced on Thursday, and at present Burger, Bismarck du Plessis, Andries Bekker (all ribs) and CJ van der Linde (hamstring) are battling injuries. It will be interesting to see what they do if Van der Linde is unavailable, as they would ideally want a similar bench (with a full front row) to the one they selected for Italy. It would be madness to go into this battle without a reserve tighthead.
112 Comments
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18 Nov 2009, 20:18 pm
#95 skopskiet: are you fkn crazy.
18 Nov 2009, 20:19 pm
bet you can’t live with my team at #95. Too bad cause thats the real deal future.
18 Nov 2009, 20:26 pm
#102 skopskiet: bullshite that team would get slaughtered in 2011.
18 Nov 2009, 20:26 pm
outta here
18 Nov 2009, 20:31 pm
I thank the lord every day that you are not a selector….
18 Nov 2009, 21:03 pm
#100 grant10:
Grant, I’m telling you, man. But I’d pick Dewald at 8,
18 Nov 2009, 21:16 pm
Poor souls still struggling to determine if they’re this or that, am I African or am I European, well sooner or later somebody going to have to make that distinction one way or the other.
You may thank the Lord I’m not a selector except Lord knows that if I was I’d fix this whole f.up up quick sticks one two three all the bull sh’t right out the window.
18 Nov 2009, 21:23 pm
#106 catleya: i always been saying Dewalt a natural 8….
He should come to wp and stormers….with LW at Bath we have a gap….and he could save us from schalks captaincy as well.
19 Nov 2009, 00:33 am
#92 catleya:
It’s the brut force of Juan Smith which defines it at Test level at the rucks, drives and scrums.
But he will match Smith in one or two seasons, we talk about here and now.
But I am convinced he might be the next JvN:skills, brain and immence physical ability
19 Nov 2009, 09:39 am
When are we going to stop this infatuation with Earl Rose…every time he does anything…catch…pass…kick. commentators feel the need to gloss over it as if he was some sort of rugby icon. It’s like they have to make an excuse for him being there…which is actually the case. No let’s be frank…he is average…at best and if we continue trying to see great talent were only average talent exists we will continue to go backwards like our scrums. Get it in your head Earl Rose is not and never will be great…just accept it and move on because there are plenty of other players who actually can be great.
19 Nov 2009, 10:39 am
#102 skopskiet: Is that hte team with SIXTEEN players in it? Talk about quotas!
20 Nov 2009, 07:49 am
Earl Rose… Rugby god.
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