The Vodacom Bulls decision to move their captain Ruan Nortje to flank over the past few games may not have caught everyone’s eye, but there is method in the madness, and it may come back to help the Springboks in the long term.
Nortje, who was one of the finds of the 2024 season, coming into the side when Franco Mostert and Lood de Jager were ruled out with injury and then played six tests for the Boks, becoming one of the most consistent performers in the side.
And while he missed the November tests because of injury, Nortje has established himself as a workhorse of note in the Bulls side, and a leader that is growing in stature with every game.
Recently his move to seven raised eyebrows a bit, but has been an undoubted success as he is able to give the Bulls loose trio a lot of balance, as well as an extra lineout option, and has found himself on the tramlines playing a lot more out wide as well.
That in itself increases his versatility and knowing how the Boks enjoy players who are Swiss army knives and can alternate in positions, the shift may become a clear advantage for Nortje.
While nobody is saying he is another Pieter-Steph du Toit, there is something refreshing about the quietest, hardest working member of the Bulls pack and the fact he can add another string to his bow.
So Nortje may well continue in the role going into the Vodacom United Rugby Championship playoff rounds, and may well become another option for Rassie Erasmus if he needs him in the role during the international season.
It’s early days yet, but other than Du Toit, Ben Jason Dixon is injured and out of the July test matches and so far - at least from the selections from the last Springbok alignment camp, there aren’t too many other candidates for the seven jersey - other than Vincent Tshituka and Jean-Luc du Preez.
And even if he doesn’t end up being the Bok answer to filling in that gap, Nortje’s role in the Bulls can also change, and with both Cobus Wiese and JF van Heerden in good form for the Pretoria side at the moment, that can only be a plus and give coach Jake White more options.
White said he planned to leave Nortje in the role for a while longer, as it would serve both the purpose of broadening his scope and skills, and do a job for the Bulls at the same time.
“Don’t underestimate what Jeff (van Heerden) has done in a short space of time, and the combination of Jeff and Cobus Wiese has worked well for us,” White said when asked about Nortje.
“A guy like Ruan I’ve always said can play seven, and especially in a country like this where there are so many locks. You’ve got RG (Snyman), Lood (de Jager) and Eben (Etzebeth) - all those locks that have won World Cups, like Franco Mostert.
"The nice thing about playing seven is that it will help Ruan. He has got all the makings of a good loose forward as well.
“He has an incredible work rate and offers you another lineout option.”
White added that Nortje had taken well to the chance to play on the side of the scrum, and in the tramlines.
“It’s funny, I see him at practice doing one-on-ones with wingers, so I joked with him, saying ‘it won’t be long and you will be doing chip kicks.’
"That sums up what I think about him - he puts in the extra yards and if he is going to be a loose forward that stays on the wing, then he will want to improve those skills on the side of the field as well.
“Then again it is no surprise that the last couple of weeks, since I’ve moved him to seven that is what he is spending his time on. I know, I moved Pieter-Steph to flank when he was a youngster and look what happened - he was twice World Player of the year.
“I think Ruan will adapt, and especially with the pack we have, there are enough players in the pack to do the things he can do in the middle of the field, while we release him to stand on the edge.”
And if it does give the Boks another option, and the Bulls for that matter, then Nortje can only be more valuable in the national set-up, and everybody wins.