More questions than answers at flyhalf

HE STARTED in the last three Tests of the November tour, but is Patrick Lambie, pictured, now the first choice Springbok flyhalf?

The 24-year-old pivot had to play behind first Morné Steyn and then Handré Pollard during the Rugby Championship after coming back from a torn bicep sustained against the Bulls in March, which saw him return to action only in July.

And after Pollard started against Ireland, Bok coach Heyneke Meyer went for the experience of Lambie (he earned his 40th Test cap against Wales at the weekend) for the subsequent matches against England, Italy and Wales.

The Sharks star had a mixed return as his goalkicking was up and down (eight out of 13) and he had a strong overall game against England – scoring 16 points, including a cool drop goal and a wonderful chip kick to set up Cobus Reinach’s try.

Lambie also tried hard to attack the advantage line at times, although probably not enough, and he was sometimes unsure of how deep or flat to stand in the pivot position. He is always a brave defender, but his tactical kicking also blew hot and cold.

So, the jury’s probably still out on whether Lambie, Pollard or even Steyn should be the Bok flyhalf next year.

Lambie was reluctant to say which areas of his game had improved on the tour following the 12-6 loss to Wales. “You will have to tell me that or ask the coach ... I’ve really enjoyed the game time and opportunity to deal with the challenges that we faced on this tour,” he said.

Lambie has proven many times for the Sharks in Super Rugby that he can get the backline going on attack, but it just hasn’t been happening on this tour. Perhaps part of the reason is due to the game plan dictating that the backs and loose forwards have to be much more direct and go up the middle in the wet northern hemisphere conditions compared to how they played in dry, firmer conditions in the past few years.

Lambie battled a bit to take control of the game with his tactical kicking at the Millennium Stadium, and also knocked the ball on once or twice. “Obviously we are very disappointed as it’s not the way we wanted to finish off the year and the season. Credit to Wales for how they played, but we made some basic mistakes, and I think we’ll learn a lot out of this performance,” he said.

“Look, I don’t think you can fault the effort – the commitment was there and the boys were really up for this game. We really wanted to finish off with a positive performance. But you have to give credit to Wales as they came off the line really hard.

“The ball was a bit slippery, but that’s no excuse at this level. Like I said, we made some errors and will be looking to correct those the next time we get together.”