Schalk Pienaar or Morne Brussow?

I'm sure all South Africans will agree that South African rugby is in a very healthy state. Head coach Peter de Villiers has the "pleasant" headache of having too many quality players available at the same time and may find selecting certain players won't please everyone.

Two positions which will have many fans in debate is open side flank and flyhalf. In both positions, you have a more experienced international player available and a strong newcomer staking a claim. Ruan Pienaar would be the starting flyhalf for South Africa in every test match if he had a consistently reliable goal kicking boot or if Percy Montgomery was still playing. While Morne Steyn has more ability than my previous sentence suggests, as an all round flyhalf Pienaar's only flaw is his inability to target the oval shaped ball over the cross bar and between the two uprights, if not for this aspect Pienaar wins the battle hands down. If you asked me who I'd currently select to start it would definitely be Morne Steyn, as a kicker is imperative to the cause and although he hasn't done anything special, he hasn't done anything particularly bad either.

IRB player of the year 2004, Schalk Burger, is back in the fray. Burger has undoubted ability and has an aura about him built up over many seasons of intense physical play that opposition teams have come to fear. Yes, he is not the best "fetcher" in world rugby and his recent "eye-gouging" incident didn't do well for his street credit. I must mention that Burger was cleared of eye-gouging but found guilty of reckless play around the face and eye area. Heinrich Brussow is the incumbent open side flanker and has been a revelation outplaying Richie McCaw and George Smith who are both seasoned world class open side flankers. Although Brussow and Burger cannot be compared like for like, this would be more a case of horses for courses. You cannot start Schalk Burger in any of the away test matches, the only one I may start him in is the last. Brussow is the real answer to combating Australia and New Zealand's ability to disrupt opposition ball at ruck time. Schalk is short of game time and should be eased back into action. I would start Brussow in every match and have Schalk play his way back into form and fitness from the bench.

There might also be far more harm done if Burger starts ahead of Brussow as it will show poor management and create disloyalty between players and coaching staff.

My verdict start Morne Brussow and bring on Schalk Pienaar to seal the deal.