Despite the omission of two precociously talented flyhalves, and a departing Springbok captain there will be much satisfaction following the announcement of South Africa’s players of the year at a function in Sandton on Thursday.

A wise man once said that while horses and dogs were capable of running to form, you should never bet money on human beings. Those who kept their money in their pockets ahead of last week’s Currie Cup semifinals are the true descendants of that sage.

It seems a lifetime ago, but it is in fact a slender 12 months since Harry Viljoen selected what would turn out to be his final Springbok squad.

There have been times over the past three years when the future of Ellis Park as a rugby venue was seriously questioned. Urban decay and the threat of violence had suffused the stadium to such an extent that relocation to Midrand and a ground-sharing scheme were both mooted.

If the tearing of hair and gnashing of teeth emanating from south of the Hex river were to be taken seriously, we should now be lamenting the demise of South African rugby. Again. An unlikely series of results from here on in notwithstanding, Western Province will not win the Currie Cup this year. Ag shame, pass the tissues.

Suddenly the country is awash with flyhalves; so much so that it seems Springbok coach Rudolf Straeuli is revisiting the idea of making Butch James into an inside centre.

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.

When the Currie Cup concludes next month, six elite teams will be divided from eight others and to allow everyone to get used to the new look, that’s the way it will stay for two seasons. That’s why Louis Koen’s injury-time conversion against the Pumas in Witbank two weeks ago was so important; if he had missed, it would most likely have condemned the Lions to two seasons in the B Section, an ignominy which has never befallen the union in its history.

In an ideal world people should be able to take responsibility for their actions, but in the artificial world that exists within the chalk lines of a rugby field that does not appear to be the case.

The hardest thing in sport is to lose when you know you should have won. This week Ernie Els is attempting to win his second major championship in a row, surfing on a wave of confidence. But what if he had lost the playoff for the Open Championship last month? He would be questioning life’s fundamentals like, is pursuing a small dimpled ball around a meadow a proper job for a grown man?