Brits primed for recall

VETERAN hooker Schalk Brits is set for a dramatic recall to test rugby against England this weekend after Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus indicated he would feature in the third test at Newlands.

Brits‚ who had a distinguished Stormers career at Newlands‚ is 37 and is unlikely to soldier on much longer, but Erasmus was not willing to write off his test future just yet.

The coach believes Brits could be the perfect player to call on in a World Cup emergency and that he has already added huge value to the squad in the week he has been in camp.

The Springboks wrapped up the series with a 23-12 win in Bloemfontein on Saturday‚ giving Erasmus a little leeway to experiment.

“Schalk Brits comes into the reckoning for sure‚” Erasmus said in Cape Town yesterday.

“He will probably start off the bench. He is definitely one of those guys we want to test.

“Although he is 37 now – I can see him playing on if he wants to.

“His plan was to retire but after this weekend we will have a good sit-down and see where we are with depth.

“We have seen in previous World Cups that you need good cover in certain positions.

“Nine‚ 10‚ hooker, No 5 lock and fullback are those areas that need depth because if you lose players in those positions a month before the World Cup‚ you need reserves.

“In Chiliboy [Ralepelle]‚ Bongi [Mbonambi]‚ Akker [van der Merwe] and Malcolm Marx we have four really solid hookers.

“We wanted to look at Bismarck du Plessis, but the timing didn’t work out.

“Schalk is the type of guy who could play until he is 38 and one more season wouldn’t be impossible. But we will have to take stock after this series and make a good decision.

“If we need to call his number for the World Cup we would want to be able to do that.

“He does have to keep playing rugby somewhere though.” – TimesLIVE