BOK SCRUMMIE RACE IS ON

EYES ON THE PRIZE: CRONJE, DE KLERK GO HEAD-TO-HEAD FOR NO 9 BERTH

Bok coach Erasmus now has four No 9s under his tutelage.

They used to rub shoulders as the Lions scrumhalves and good mates, but now Faf de Klerk and Ross Cronje are vying for the same spot in the national team.

With the 26-year-old De Klerk the incumbent and first choice, Cronje was added to the mix by Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus for the Rugby Championship opener against the Pumas in Durban next weekend.

Rewind the clock back to 2016 when De Klerk played the first of his 14 Tests but then fell out of favour which prompted him to move to Sale Sharks where his stocks grew rapidly.

On the other side of the dice there is the 29-year-old Cronje, who played 10 Tests for the Boks last season, but had been overlooked before his call-up earlier this week.

“I believed it’s the right time to take a better look at him and in all honesty I’ve never worked with Ross before,” said Erasmus.

Cronje was one of the nine Lions players who were involved in the Super Rugby final and only joined up with the rest of the squad on Wednesday.

Apart from Cronje’s experience the past six years in Super Rugby, earning 76 caps, he is a tactically sound No 9 who is defensively very strong and could work with the other two young scrumhalves – the Bulls’ Ivan van Zyl and Embrose Papier.

“As a scrumhalf who had been involved in the last three Super Rugby finals he must have done something right to be able to be part of such an experience,” said Erasmus.

The Bok coach said, however, being given the opportunity to work with four scrumhalves in the group of 35 means there are no guarantees.

There is also the conundrum that De Klerk and fullback Willie le Roux, because of pressure from their Sale Sharks and Wasps clubs in the UK, might not be available for all six Rugby Championship encounters.

“We might keep some players like Ross and others in the squad or they might be released depending on the merits and occasions,” said Erasmus.

He added however having worked with Papier and Van Zyl during the June Tests he knows what he has in them even though they will still grow as players.

“We know where we are heading with the other young scrumhalves in the squad like Embrose and Ivan,” Erasmus said.

Picture: Gallo Images LET BATTLE COMMENCE. Scrumhalf Ross Cronje’s (above) inclusion in the Springbok squad means he will renew his fierce rivalry with present incumbent Faf de Klerk.