Stefan Terblanch, cool, calm and collected
With the first B&I Lions test less than 7 weeks away and two South African Teams sitting in the top four of the Super 14 log, it poses a few selection headaches for PdV and the Bok selectors, albeit pleasant headaches with the current player depth we are enjoying in South Africa.
I think it is time to speculate on a few positions, and who I think should be pulling the green and gold over their heads come 20 June.
Lets start at the back and work our way forward: Fullback.
One of the positions with the most ‘airtime’ so far has to be fullback. With the untimely injury to Conrad Jantjies, my first choice would be Stefan Terblanche.
Some people feel that he doesn’t offer enough on attack. I feel he has been near flawless on defence this season and my reasoning simply being that you can’t buy experience. Come the lions tour, this cool, calm and collected 33* yr old veteran of the game will serve us well from the back. (*Terblanche will have turned 34 by the time the 1st test comes round)
As an understudy to Terblanche, the obvious choice would be Francois Steyn. Love him or hate him, Steyn is one of the most talented young rugby players around. At not yet 22 years of age, he already has 27 caps under his belt. His long-range drop goals from the back could also clinch crucial games. I do however feel his best position is in the centres, and with injury possibly ruling Adi Jacobs out, I’ll keep him in the bag for later on.
Some of the talk doing the rounds involves Jacques Fourie at fullback. Its an interesting ‘out of the box’ idea, but I think putting (probably) the best no.13 in the game at the moment at fullback, will be a waste.
Its time to bring on the young guns. I’d personally like to see Louis Ludik get a call up. He’s a solid player, and I think he has a lot to offer Springbok rugby in years to come. The experience of a B&I Lions tour can help him become the kind of player we are looking to for the future.
My Choice, injuries considered: (starting/understudy)
15. Stefan Terblanche/Louis Ludik
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