National contenders are lining up

The Super 14 game between the Vodacom Stormers and the Reds in Brisbane is shaping up to be the one determining the destiny of Schalk Burger’s men in the competition. Will they host one semifinal or not? Fresh from their emphatic victory against the Bulls, the Reds will be keen this coming weekend to claim another South African scalp, and who better than the Stormers team which was outrageously good in its thumping of the Chiefs?

The try by Bryan Habana was arguably the team five-pointer of the season – started by Jaque Fourie and finished by the charismatic left-winger after 80 metres of sublime passing and swerving.

The fatigue factor and the long flight to Australia could well conspire against the Stormers. But if their intensity is high, the Reds would have to produce another 80 minutes of high-octane rugby to outgun the Stormers.

National contenders

From a national point of view, coach Peter de Villiers is spoilt for choice, and the national selectors may be forgiven if they are in turmoil over several head-scratching selection posers.

Who do you select among the flankers, for example, with Jean Deysel, Schalk Burger, Francois Louw and Juan Smith all having produced superb rugby over the past two months? Smith has not featured lately (his father sadly passed away), but everybody knows what he is capable of.

The hooker position is also one that would leave the Bok selectors with more difficult choices to make. Would John Smit be selected, and if so, is Bismarck du Plessis the choice on the bench?

Tiaan Liebenberg’s support play and his barn-storming runs for the Stormers have been praised by several international commentators, and some even have compared him with the legendary Uli Schmidt.

Adriaan Strauss has his supporters at the Cheetahs.

In England, Saracens coach Brendan Venter told the media that Schalk Brits must be one of the three best hookers in the world.

His display against the Harlequins, which earned him the Man of the Match award, was awesome, according to the Harlequins coach, Conor O’ Shea.

“Schalk is a special player and must be one of the three best hookers in the world,” said former Springbok centre Venter.

O’ Shea said of Brits: “He’s an absolutely amazing rugby player. He was phenomenal (in the win on Saturday against the Harlequins).

At lock, Andries Bekker is arguably the form lock in the Super 14 competition. Victor Matfield, Danie Rossouw and Flip van der Merwe are all excelling.

Bakkies Botha, a world-class lock and a real enforcer, will be back in action soon and may well get game time next weekend when the Bulls take on the Sharks. He still could miss out on the game against the Lions at Loftus.

Juandré Kruger (a former Western Province and Bulls lock) is back from Northampton where he was magnificent, and the Bulls may well allow another two locks to be used elsewhere in the competition soon.

South Africa has bemoaned the loss of Butch James after the World Cup, but with Morné Steyn, Ruan Pienaar and Peter Grant available, there is little about which to complain.

The only areas of concern are possibly at tighthead, scrumhalf and right wing.

JP Pietersen has not been in great form lately, and Lionel Mapoe is injured, so it leaves the selectors with little to enthuse about on the right wing.

At scrumhalf, the selectors may well use Pienaar as backup for the world’s premier scrumhalf, Fourie du Preez, but there are not too many other choices with the world of experience. Enrico Januarie, when he has featured for the Stormers, looked out of sorts.

Jake White, a former Springbok coach, said in 2009 that the Springbok team of 2007-2009 is arguably the greatest of all time. One of the reasons was the depth in reserves.

We have to reserve judgement on the class of 2010 prior to the long international season with 14 Tests and a Tri-Nations campaign beckoning.

But the fate of the Boks could be decided by the Super 14 coaches and how well or how poorly they use or abuse their top players. If they use their best players without resting them for the next five weeks, and De Villiers continues the trend, expect a sudden Springbok implosion at the end of the Tri-Nations campaign.

What could save De Villiers and his selectors could be the imminent return of De Villiers, BJ Botha, CJ van der Linde and possibly even Brits in June.

With all these player resources, South Africa is in a favourable position to repeat its magnificent Tri-Nations performances of 2009.

But the Australian teams already have shown in the Super 14 competition that the Wallabies will be a force to be reckoned with, while the magnificent Six Nations campaign by the French will make them a dangerous outfit in Cape Town.

And remember, South Africa returns from the encounter with Wales a mere five days before their match against the French at Newlands.