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Jordan’s chance to insert himself into the conversation

rugby20 November 2024 05:20
By:Gavin Rich
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Jordan Hendrikse @ Gallo Images

There is no limit to how meticulous Rassie Erasmus is with his planning, so it is not stretching it to suggest the coach may already have been thinking of this weekend in Cardiff as Jordan Hendrikse’s next opportunity to wear the No 10 after the last Springbok match against Wales.

That was back in June, the first Bok match of the year and the new World Cup cycle, and the first game they played since annexing the global trophy for the second consecutive time in Paris the previous October. The game was played at Twickenham outside of the international window, and with Handre Pollard unavailable, Hendrikse was given his chance.

Hendrikse’s nerves were palpable when he missed an early kick and also a few times in general play. The then 22-year-old - he turned 23 six days later - didn’t play badly, but the man who replaced him in the second half took his chance. The equally young and promising Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu celebrated his arrival on the field by almost immediately calmly slotting a monster penalty from a good distance inside his own half and the rest, as they say, is history.

The DHL Stormers player got to be part of the match day squad against Ireland in Pretoria in the next match, while Hendrikse dropped out, and Feinberg-Mngomezulu ended up playing most of the second test of the Irish series at fullback as Willie le Roux was injured early in that game in Durban.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu started some of the early games in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship, including the Johannesburg clash with the All Blacks, and although he has been out since the second game of that mini-series, he did enough to become one of the nominees for the World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year Award, with the winner to be announced next week.

HENDRIKSE HAS HELPED HIS CAUSE PLAYING FOR SHARKS

Hendrikse, who swopped the Emirates Lions for the Hollywoodbets Sharks in the off-season, where he has linked up with his brother Jaden, did remain in Erasmus’ thoughts, for he did mention him on a few occasions as one of his options. And Hendrikse helped his own cause with his performances for the Sharks, firstly as a fullback in the Carling Currie Cup, with his monster last gasp penalty winning the trophy for the Sharks, and then latterly as a flyhalf, with coach John Plumtree slotting him into the No 10 ahead of Siya Masuku once Aphelele Fassi had returned to the selection mix, in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship.

If not when he left the field at Twickenham five months ago, Erasmus would certainly have targeted Saturday’s game against Wales, the last one of the year for the Boks, as a chance for Hendrikse to show he can build on what was started in June. And it has to be said that the stage has been set for the flyhalf, for Erasmus has come up with a much more full strength side than many might have anticipated given how Wales have struggled recently.

There are seven changes for Saturday’s game to the side that beat England in London last weekend, but the core of the team, and the bench, still has a frontline look to it. Which helps Hendrikse, because there’s nothing harder for a new player than to be asked to prove oneself by slotting into a team that also features several other rookies. There was some experience in the team that Pieter-Steph du Toit led in June, but Hendrikse wasn’t the only newcomer, and a player like fullback Fassi is now a much more travelled international player now than he was then.

CHANCE TO REPRISE WHAT MANIE DID IN NELSPRUIT

Indeed, if you consider brother Jaden was the scrumhalf in the Mbombela test against the Pumas that clinched the Rugby Championship title, Hendrikse for Manie Libbok is the only change to the backline that was so brilliant in that game. Libbok was of course the fulcrum of the Bok attack that day, and he wasn’t bad before being replaced in London last week, but this is a clear opportunity for Hendrikse to reprise what Libbok did then and insert himself more firmly into the flyhalf conversation.

Handre Pollard, who was excellent in steadying the ship in general play when he came on last week, has been the only constant when it comes to flyhalves in the match day squad on this November tour (the Boks going for a 7/1 split meant no extra pivot was on duty in Edinburgh). Pollard will provide cover again off the bench, as he did in Nelspruit and in London, whereas against Scotland he started.

Pollard will remain in the mix as long as he is fit enough and hungry enough, and Libbok has probably done enough to ensure he remains a squad player for the duration of this World Cup cycle. Feinberg-Mngomezulu was clearly the man Erasmus had in his mind as the future at flyhalf a few months ago, and although he blotted his copy book with the head coach by playing with an injury against the All Blacks in Cape Town, that is likely to remain the case.

But Hendrikse is good enough to insert himself into the debate over Bok flyhalves, and may be helped by his move to the Bok laden Sharks at franchise level, particularly if they go far in the prestigious Investec Champions Cup.There was a perception that he could on some days be as unreliable from the tee as Libbok sometimes is, but he has laid that ghost to rest in recent times.

DAMIAN MAKES IT FIVE

Hendrikse’s inclusion in the team for Cardiff underlines the depth that has suddenly become apparent in a position where previously the Boks were considered a bit thin. Back in 2019, there were fears that the Bok challenge for the World Cup would falter if Pollard was injured because the only specialist cover was Elton Jantjies, with back-up from utility back Frans Steyn.

But a strong showing from Hendrikse against Wales will confirm the Boks have four top drawer No 10s, and there’s actually five, for Damian Willemse reminded us with his recent performance for the Stormers against Munster in that position that it is where he started his career. And Erasmus does appear to rate him in that position. The problem is that the Stormers have a plethora of flyhalves, with both Libbok and Feinberg-Mngomezulu on their books, so Willemse won’t get to play there often. Fassi’s emergence at fullback does though make the deployment of Willemse in another position, with inside centre also being a good fit for him, more likely.

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