Let’s hope the Bok coach allows this Cheetah the run of the park

HOW many of the Springbok newbies will get a shot against the Barbarians on Saturday? How will they go? Will they make a statement? We don’t know. But what we can be confident about is that if Francois Venter’s performances this season are anything to go on, he can certainly spark the Springbok midfield.

After representing South Africa at SA Schools and Under-20 level, Venter might not have had the immediate impact on South African rugby as anticipated, but he seems set to make up for lost time.

The former Bulls man, who was lured to Pretoria but headed back to sunny Bloemfontein after being frustrated by a lack of game time with the Bulls, has been in scintillating form with Franco Smith’s Cheetahs this year. No wonder he is now in the green and gold.

He captained the Free State Cheetahs to Currie Cup victory and he ended off a fine day with selection for the Springbok touring squad. And he wasn’t only named in the Bok squad to face the Barbarians at Wembley Stadium on Saturday – he is also one of four players uncapped players to be included in the squad for the whole tour.

If he sets the field alight like we have come to expect from him, he might even get a chance to do his thing against England at the home of rugby.

The Cheetahs skipper and arguably their brightest star’s value was spotted by Allister Coetzee, who described the 25-year-old as a leader when he spoke at a press conference earlier this week.

And this man’s leadership abilities definitely can’t be questioned. He has led the Cheetahs superbly, while also producing top performances week in and week out.

His other skills speak for themselves. His attacking ability and his defensive skills cannot be ignored. And these are aspects that the Bok backline has struggled with. A lot.

He is not shy of the try line, in fact, it is an area he is well acquainted with.

He is a class centre. He can play at both 12 and 13, his decision-making is good and he communicates well. He has pace, he makes clean breaks like it’s nothing when given front foot ball by his pack, and he is equally adept on attack and defence.

Just think back to Super Rugby. When the competition kicked off, Venter scored two tries in the first two rounds, and he didn’t lack in other departments (as you should have figured by now). He had a great start to the season and he maintained his form throughout the competition.

Francois Venter is an asset. Remember his off-the-ground offloads that we saw this season? Those swift changes in running lines. Those line breaks. Those passes that put his support runners into space. That deceptive pace.

He offers everything the Springboks need and more. Let’s just hope the Boks coach allows this Cheetah the run of the park.