Coetzee must drop the sentiment
THE SHARKS were carrying the ball smartly, taking the game to the Waratahs with some constructive ball retention that placed them just outside the opposition 22.
And then it happened – Patrick Lambie took the ball into contact, and was met by the hulking figure of Tahs tighthead Sekope Kepu.
There was only going to be one winner in that contest, but there was a bit of WWE in the way Kepu dumped Lambie to the ground.
The Sharks captain stayed down, and even after eventually getting up, he went down on his knees as he received treatment to his back. He had that resigned “Not again” look on his face as the medical staff did their thing, and he was off after just a few minutes.
Lambie has now been ruled out for between six and eight weeks with a horrific-sounding injury called fractured vertebrae in his lower back.
It is the latest in an almost never-ending injury saga for the wonderfully talented playmaker.
In fact, Lambie has had a serious injury every year since 2014 – biceps, neck, shoulder and concussion – before the current back issue.
It is a real pity for the likeable 26-year-old, who is a real gentleman and classy operator at flyhalf and fullback.
He has played in two World Cups, and amassed 56 Test caps since 2010. And who will ever forget the way he masterminded Western Province’s demise in the 2010 Currie Cup final at Kings Park? Or slotted the long-range penalty for the Boks to beat the All Blacks in 2014?
But the question that needs to be asked is this – can Springbok coach Allister Coetzee afford to pick him again when the June series against France rolls around?
Coetzee made that exact mistake at that time last year. Remember that Lambie sustained a shoulder injury in a pre-season game against Toulon, and was out for over 12 weeks.
Yet he was rushed back into the Bok starting line-up for the Ireland series after just two-and-a-half games for the Sharks, and subsequently took another injury knock in his clash with CJ Stander at Newlands in June.
The resulting concussion kept him out until late September, when he returned against Australia after playing only 20 minutes of a Currie Cup game.
And now Lambie is again on the sidelines.
We know that Coetzee holds him in high regard – and rightly so – but if Lambie is out for the full eight weeks, he is only set to be back on the field on May 13 against the Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth.
Two more Sharks games follow, against the Sunwolves in Singapore and Stormers in Durban, before the first Bok Test against France on June 10 in Pretoria.
Are three matches enough for Lambie to prove that he is 100 percent fit and ready for Test rugby? No, and especially if there are a number of other candidates waiting to don the No 10 jersey.
Handré Pollard is busy with his comeback from a year out of the game, Elton Jantjies is trying to rediscover the spark from the last Super season, Jean-Luc du Plessis is putting his hand up (although he will also miss the next four to six weeks), and young protégé Curwin Bosch was outstanding as a replacement for Lambie at the weekend.
As fine a rugby player as the Sharks stalwart is, the Bok coach cannot continue to pick him on reputation and sentiment.
Lambie hasn’t been able to function at 100 percent for the majority of the season for the last three years, and has had another disrupted start in 2017. It won’t be fair on the man himself, nor the Springbok team, for Lambie to line up against the French at Loftus Versfeld on June 10.
Let the man play a number of games first, for his own sake and that of the Bok side. There shouldn’t be any doubts about the team’s general.