Juarno Augustus sends robust reminder to Rassie

Juarno Augustus played with the intensity of a South African playing for more than league points in Ulster’s 38-all United Rugby Championship match against the Stormers in Belfast. And it would have been difficult to anyone watching to ignore his statement performance.

Augustus a year ago was picked for Rassie Erasmus’s Springboks squad, but was ruled out because of injury and a subsequent delay in getting his medical clearance in joining Ulster from Northampton Saints.

Augustus, a former SA Schools and SA under 20 powerhouse, had played for the Stormers before transferring to England’s Saints, where he was outstanding.

Since joining Ulster, he has been as good as he was in England’s Premiership, but their was no national reward when Erasmus named his first overseas-based player alignment camp a few months ago.

Augustus’s omission was the biggest surprise in a predictable list of those based overseas.

It has not deterred Augustus, who in the time he has been away from Cape Town, always delivers big performances against South African teams.

Augustus has shown at club level that he can mix it with the best teams. He was brilliant for Saints in last season’s Investec Champions Cup semi-final win against Leinster at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin and earlier in the competition he had been impressive when Saints beat the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.

This season he has been strong for Ulster and he will be a significant player when the Northern Ireland club plays Montpellier in the final of the EPCR Challenge Cup in a fortnight.

Erasmus has entrusted Japan-based and former Leicester No 8 Jasper Wiese as his starting option in the past two seasons. He has also played Siya Kolisi, Kwagga Smith and specialist lock Cobus Wiese at No 8.

The Stormers No 8 Evan Roos has played eight Tests in four years under 2023 World Cup winning Boks coach Jacques Nienaber and Erasmus. But Roos was not a consideration for Erasmus last season.

This season Roos has been exceptional for the Stormers, but on Friday night in Belfast he gave Erasmus a highlights reel reinforcing the reasons Erasmus has not picked him. It was so frustrating to observe and the player did himself a disservice with a performance riddled by ill-discipline.

Roos, on so many occasions the Stormers Player of the Match in the URC this season, got substituted after a 62 minute session the Irish television commentators described as horrendous.

Augustus, when he got substituted just after the hour, had made such a statement that he was named URC Player of the Match by former Irish wing and broadcast analyst Andrew Trimble.

He edged Ulster’s fellow South African Werner Kok, who scored three tries and Stormers No 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, whose 21 points included two fabulous tries, a 100 percent goal kicking return, magical moments on attack and two try-saving tackles.

But it was Augustus whose star shone brightest for the home crowd and his physical presence was accentuated when he brushed off Stormers scrumhalf Imaad Khan and made 30 metres on attack.

Augustus carried strongly and always advanced Ulster’s cause on attack.

It was the type of controlled, aggressive and disciplined performance aligned to any national team audition.