Race for the Bok driver’s seat is on
● A rugby team, like an F1 car, is made up of many components, which all have to work at high intensity and in unison for the best results. But once that is achieved it’s down to the driver to guide the machine to its maximum around the track.
In rugby, the flyhalf is the driver, and in SA the search for the best pilot to occupy the Springbok seat is under way. Elton Jantjies and Handré Pollard head the queue while Rob du Preez and Damian Willemse are starting to make a case for inclusion. And then there is France-based Pat Lambie, who, despite 56 tests, has never made his claim to the No 10 jersey unequivocally.
Just about every successful team has a dominant flyhalf and every major contender for a title is staffed by a standout flyhalf of the year, or the era. No war is won without a general at outside-half pulling the strings and steering the team forward.
The very best in the position appear to have time on the ball while also doing the basics superbly and making the extraordinary look ordinary. They have to be supremely tactical, but also flexible in their decision-making and they have to be able to defend. There’s no room for revolving doors.
All the Bok contenders have question marks in some key areas. Pollard missed some vital tackles last season but can also knock ball runners back.
But mistakes aside, at test level Pollard has demonstrated his potential more than Jantjies. His brilliant performance against the All Blacks in 2014, the last and only time the Boks beat NZ in the past seven seasons, was a microcosm of Pollard at his best.
The ability to absorb, and even embrace pressure, is another trait great flyhalves possess, and of the current SA group, only Pollard has demonstrated signs of doing that consistently. He produced several high quality performances at the 2015 World Cup, including a near flawless display in the 20-18 semifinal loss to the All Blacks.
Jantjies though, has enjoyed two full seasons as the unchallenged first choice while Pollard was out injured. The experience he has amassed can’t be tossed away.
There is no doubt that in Super Rugby Jantjies is among the best, but at test level, his swagger and confidence seem to desert him. He has never had a complete howler in Bok colours, but he has never owned a game at test level either.
Perhaps a new coaching regime will bring out the best in the Lions man, because he has always played his best rugby in a positive, attacking environment.
Jantjies’ one season at the Stormers, under previous Bok coach Allister Coetzee, was a poor one. He was subdued in the Stormers’ suffocating, almost ambition-free set-up and it was little better under Coetzee at the Boks.
Under Rassie Erasmus though, Jantjies might have the opportunity to fulfil his mighty potential.