Check Point 11 March 2011

With Super Rugby in Round 4 it makes interesting reading with a World Cup on the horizon. The leading South African side is the Sharks with their dynamic style of play, while the defending champion Bulls are struggling to gather any momentum.

The Stormers seemingly look to still be working things out but once they do I think we could be in for some good performances by the men from the Cape.

The Lions and Cheetahs are in a similar position where they have some fantastic talents in their ranks and good ideas from a good coaching staff. When it comes to execution, however, they lack the finishing touch. As the competition progresses I wouldn’t be too surprised if these bottom dwellers manage to overturn some of the big boys in their quest for Super Rugby kudos.

There are a few South African players who have made an impact already which gives the South African rugby public something to be talking about. Jaco Taute is one of the players who has impressed for the Lions at fullback. Watching the young No.15 play reminds me of the great Andre Joubert. Taute is definitely one to watch for the future and I wouldn’t be surprised if he is snatched up by the one of the bigger unions.

With Morne Steyn off the boil, it is promising to see Peter Grant and Patrick Lambie looking good for the Stormers and Sharks respectively. Some might say that Grant has been unlucky not to be given an extended run for the Boks, but this might just be his year to make it count. Lambie was last season’s South African sensation but the Super Rugby competition will test him out even further – so far so good.

The last two players worth a mention are massive assets in the Boks setup and it is great to see them playing again and playing well. When these two players are on form there is no one in the world that would rival them. Oh how we missed Fourie du Preez while he was out injured. The general at the back of the scrum is in a class of his own and it is great for South African rugby that he is back playing again after an injury layoff.

The standout South African player so far in this year’s Super Rugby competition has to be Bismark du Plessis in my mind. He holds the scrum together well, his lineout throwing is solid but his biggest contribution to date is how he goes about his open play. He is fearless in attack and defence. He takes the ball up carrying two or three defenders with him and is like a fourth loose forward in defence.

With these two stalwarts returning to form and some promising fringe players playing well, Springbok rugby looks to be on the right track for the Rugby World Cup.

Buffel Steenkamp

The role of the loosehead prop from initially only having to be a solid scrummager and sturdy lineout lifter has evolved dramatically over the years. The modern day No.1 now needs to be able to run with the ball, make pop passes, score tries and even take the odd gap!

Os du Randt for many years was the rock in the Springbok tight five. He was a great scrummager, fantastic lineout support and carried the ball up strongly. Although Os had age against him near the end of his career, he still maintained good fitness and got around the park to hit rucks with good effect.

When Os retired many looked to a young Gurthro Steenkamp as the perfect replacement. Young Gurthro was big, scrummed well and was handy with ball in hand too. Unfortunately, a series of injuries and lack of form saw him fall out of the Bok fold while Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira took the opportunity with both hands.

One man’s loss is another one’s gain and when the South African government decided to turn the tables and not allow the Beast to be selected for the Springboks on grounds that he was not a South African National, the door opened once again for Steenkamp.

After a stellar Super 14 for the Bulls, the massive front ranker had some people wondering if he could transfer those same performances onto the Test arena. He did. Steenkamp is by far this season’s Springbok player of the year. This year he proved to the world that he is an outstanding scrummager, defends extremely well for a man his size and runs like a buffalo with ball in hand.

This season saw Steenkamp establish himself as a World Class loosehead. With the Beast also a top class No.1, one sometimes wishes that one of them was a tighthead.

The maturity shown by Steenkamp this season is one shining light in all the gloom produced by the Springbok performances this year.

Keep up the good work Gurthro!