If strength against strength in the Currie Cup means more of what we got last weekend the restructured tournament can’t come quickly enough. Not only was the rugby in Bloemfontein and Johannesburg of a conspicuously high standard, but the public came out to watch it in droves.
There were exceptions, of course. In Witbank on Friday night about 100 paying customers watched the Pumas qualify for the Super Eights by beating the Eagles. On this basis those who fear that rugby in the platteland is dying are wrong; it is already dead.
Fortunately for the smaller unions it has already been agreed that the B Section will be televised almost as comprehensively as the A Section from next year, with both Supersport and the SABC covering games every weekend. Consequently fears that a great new talent might be missed because of an unfortunate choice of province have largely been allayed.
And the good news is that right now the country is chock-a-block with great new talent. In a Free State back row that could boast almost 100 Springbok caps between Rassie Erasmus and Andre Venter, 19-year-old Jaun Smith shone as brightly as he did during the under-21 World Cup earlier this year.
Principally because he did not attend Grey College, Smith did not play Craven Week for Free State, but after his first trial for Shimlas it was agreed that he could jol with the big boys. Not long from now he may well feature in a Springbok back row with Joe van Niekerk and then the opposition had better watch out.
Van Niekerk showed national coach Rudolf Straeuli what he had been missing all season in the Lions’ defeat of the Sharks at Ellis Park. Van Niekerk gave the kind of display at eighth man that made him a legend as a King Edwards schoolboy.
There were times during the Tri-Nations when Straeuli toyed with the idea of moving Van Niekerk to the back of the scrum, but he didn’t quite have the courage to either drop or move Bob Skinstad. The end-of- season tour to Europe may put an end to that conservatism and move Springbok rugby one step closer to winning the 2003 World Cup.
As for the debate over who should play flyhalf, after the performance by Andre Pretorius against the Sharks it should end here and now. Pretorius is the most complete flyhalf in the country who has the ability to become the best in the world. Butch James would make the ideal inside centre and Brent Russell can play anywhere. Exciting times lie ahead for South African rugby.