Butch James to be dropped from Springboks?
Posted by | Posted in Springboks | Posted on 23-10-2008
I am hearing unconfirmed reports this morning that Butch James maybe omitted from the Springbok squad for the upcoming end of year tour. It is not clear why James would be omitted but it is suggested that PDV will not pick players not playing in South Africa for the Springbok end of year tour. The selection of foreign based players was always going to be an issue!
So if James is not selected on Saturday for the squad, who is going to play flyhalf for the Boks? It is clear that the Boks need to find a replacement for James in the long run as Butch had said he would retire from international rugby after the Lions tour next year. The obvious name to replace James would be Peter Grant but I seriously doubt Grant has what it takes to be an international class number 10. The likes of Carter and Giteau would have a party playing against Grant on the big stage.
This now brings back the debate of having Ruan Pienaar at number 10. Then again, Frans Steyn has said he wants to be a Bok number 10 so maybe this is the time to blood the young man into that position. Personally I do not think Frans is a number 10, for me he is a fullback.
For now the dropping of Butch is all speculation and we will know more come the weekend and then we can discuss hard facts on Monday but for now lets debate on the possibilty of Butch being dropped.
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I think it is a good idea to drop Butch now and give someone else a run at 10. Truth be told, SA have not had a decent number 10 since Henry Honiball. A lot of pretenders have come and gone but it is high time someoen steps up to the plate.
You just have to look at Craven week and see how many talented flyhalfs there are there but you wonder where they all disappear to. It is just the same situation as the cricket team, with all the guys playing cricket, we can not find one spinner!
In agreement with Tom, not only is the talent there, but it’s in abundance at school level. I feel that the current problem is perfectly illustrated by the fact that of 2 of the SA S14 teams had flyhalves who are not eligible for the boks. Maybe it’s time the talent spotters stepped up and took responsibility because there are a lot of players who if spotted early enough, could have been grommed into decent flyhalves by now. It is just a typical example of poor planning on the part of the powers that be.
Gents, if Butch is dropped, I mentioned the options of Grant, Steyn and Ruan at 10. I have then looked at the other flyhalfs available in SA: Morne Steyn, Earl Rose and Jacques-Louis Potgieter. None of those 3 will be able to make it at a test level.
I throw in a curve ball here; maybe the talent at number 10 in South Africa is there but the bar has just been set at another level when you look at other number 10’s in the world. New Zealand had the likes of Merhtens, Spencer and Carter at 10, Australia had Larkham and now Giteau. All 5 are amazing players and seeing a Bok be mentioned amongst those 5 names will take a lot.
So whoever the Boks pick at 10, it will take a lot for that player to be a great in world terms based on the other number 10’s in the game.
That is very true Ron, but the boks do not need the world’s best in every position. This is where the coach comes in now. The boks have world class props, locks, loose trio, scrumhalfs,centre and wing. With this much talent elsewhere, all the boks need is a half decent flyhalf. In my books, Jaco VD Westhuizen was nowhere near a world class flyhalf, you could never mention him next to Larkham and neither could you do the same with the old Butch, but Jake worked with both these flyhalfs and produced some outstanding victories with them. This is where PDV and Muir should just decide on 2 players they feel they can groom for the next 3 years and work with what they have. There is no excuse for SA not to have a decent flyhalf, the talent is there. They may not be world class but a good coach will be able to extract something out of them.