Flyhalves take centre stage

The two potential generals in Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash in Albany, All Black flyhalf Beauden Barrett and his Springbok counterpart Elton Jantjies (below), will be under pressure for different reasons.

Barrett was in his usual scintillating form in general play against Argentina last weekend, but he was completely off-target with the kicking tee to such an extent that replacement Lima Sopoaga later took over the kicking duties.

On the other hand, Jantjies was on target with five of six attempts against the Wallabies, but he erred kick out of hand. He made the major mistake of not finding touch from a penalty just before the break which eventually led to an Aussie penalty and a Bok deficit of 13-10 at the break.

Bok coach Allister Coetzee, who is expected to name two or three changes to his line-up today, is wary of what Barrett could bring to the spectacle this weekend.

“They have great leadership and world class players, while Beauden Barrett is their catalyst,” cautioned Coetzee. “The patience and discipline of the All Blacks are some of their key strengths, so for us it will be a great occasion to measure ourselves.”

Coetzee is expected to name Trevor Nyakane at tighthead prop in the place of the injured Coenie Oosthuizen, with Ruan Dreyer added to the bench.

With flank Jaco Kriel out with a shoulder injury, it makes all the sense in the world to name JeanLuc du Preez in the No 7 jersey, with his brother Daniel added to the bench for a potential first cap.

But there’s also food for thought in using one of the two more mobile locks in the squads, Franco Mostert and Pieter-Steph du Toit in a blindside role to try and counter the physicality of the All Blacks.

But it’s doubtful Coetzee will wander down such a potential risky avenue.