One thing that has become increasingly evident among the Springbok squad of 2006, assembled in Bloemfontein, is that the team looks desperately short of pace out wide.
Of the initial squad of 45, only 27 went through their paces at Shimla Park on Tuesday afternoon, and of those 27, not one player was an out-and-out winger.
With Bryan Habana out injured at this stage the Springboks look weak out wide — one area where Jake White has said in the past that he needs pure pace.
Tonderai Chavanga was not on the park, although he was seen at the team hotel this week.
The players that did run on the wings in the training session may find themselves in that position come the Test matches, against a World XV and Scotland, and maybe even against the might of the Antipodean speedsters later this year.
Jaque Fourie, Gaffie du Toit and Andre Snyman all ran on the wing on Tuesday and one of them will likely fight for a test place for number 14, if Habana recovers. If the Bulls flyer does not then surely Brent Russell, who is electric, may also come into the picture.
Snyman is a natural centre, as is Fourie, while Du Toit started his career at flyhalf, then was shifted to fullback and now plays on the wing for the Cheetahs. Russell is also a flyhalf/fullback, so the Boks could go into their international season with no first-choice wingers.
The pace of the Wallabies in Clyde Rathbone and Lote Tuquiri and the Kiwi quartet of Rico Gear, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Doug Howlett and Joe Rokocoko is frightening and a little daunting if you are a Bok fan. — Sapa