Last December Handre Pollard, fresh from his starring role in a second Springbok World Cup triumph, got to measure himself against a young South African flyhalf in the form of Jurie Matthee when the DHL Stormers visited Welford Road.
Pollard’s Leicester Tigers held on for an opening Investec Champions Cup win against what was effectively a second string Stormers team, but was impressed so much with the way Matthee shaped up that he spent some time chatting to him and giving him pointers after the game. After all, they are both old boys of Paarl Gimnasium, having matriculated six years apart.
This weekend Pollard will have another opportunity to measure up the potential of a fellow South African by playing in direct opposition, and this time it is a player he should be getting to know quite well after being in Springbok camp with him. There is a chance of course Hollywoodbets Sharks coach John Plumtree might select Siya Masuku to play flyhalf against the Tigers, but Jordan Hendrikse is bound to play a role in the game regardless of whether he starts, which is more likely, or plays off the bench.
Hendrikse of course ended the international season playing No 10 for the Boks against Wales in Cardiff, with Pollard, as he has done for several other pivots in recent months, backing up from the bench. Coming on from the bench has been a familiar role for Pollard since the World Cup - apart from backing up Hendrikse, he’s also backed up Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu a couple of times and Manie Libbok twice.
It gives the appearance of there being a lot of competition for the starting flyhalf role, and you’d imagine this could be an opportunity to prove a point to a young upstart and pretender to what he should feel is his rightful position - after all many critics would pen Pollard in as their starting 10 in a World XV.
But instead of viewing it that way, Pollard stuck to the Bok party line when interviewed by the UK media this week ahead of Saturday’s clash with several of his regular Bok teammates at Welford Road. Instead of talking like he wanted to knock 23-year-old Hendrikse down, he spoke like the mentor that he probably is within the Bok camp.
“Jordan is developing very quickly. He’s got a great head on his shoulders, he’s an all-round player. He’s got a bit of everything, really,” said Pollard.
“Now it is a case for him of building up that experience. He’s got a great future ahead of him.”
He has indeed, as has Feinberg-Mngomezulu, so there’s no need for any concern these days about the Bok stocks in the crucial backline decision making position going forward. It could probably be said the Boks currently have four flyhalves, maybe five if you count the injured Damian Willemse. And that’s the way Pollard appears to see it.
“There is a bigger picture, the Springboks always come first. We all try to get the best out of each other. The young flyhalves have been great, they want to learn, they ask questions and if we have something to offer (to tell them), that’s great,” he said.
“But we learn a lot from them as well. They grew up in a different era and see the game differently. So it is good for us older guys to see that from them as well. It goes both ways.”
It does indeed, and the Sharks, even though they will have travelled with several key players missing from injury, still have an impressive phalanx of World Cup winners mixed up with promising young players in their group for Saturday’s second Champions Cup clash of the new campaign.
While there is certain to be plenty of bonhomie off the field after the final whistle between Pollard and his teammates, the atmosphere on the field will be very different. As is the case in a South African derby, there will be an intense conflict on the field before it gives way to the handshakes and hugging that now follows even the most spiteful and hard fought games.
“We like playing against each other and we always go extra hard when we do,” acknowledged Pollard. “You want to measure yourself against the best in the world, and that is what they are.”
Eben Etzebeth was concussed last week against Exeter Chiefs so won’t be part of the Sharks mix and Vincent Koch and Lukhanyo Am are also out, but the likes of Bok skipper Siya Kolisi, Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nche, Jaden Hendrikse and Grant Williams, Makazole Mapimpi and Aphelele Fassi will be.
The player in that group who is not yet a World Cup winner is Fassi, and how Pollard decides to test him around the field could be one of the most intriguing features of Saturday evening’s game and a reason to watch it all on its own.
The Sharks team will be announced on Friday afternoon but given the need for the Sharks to get another win, with the tough January fixtures against the French teams Toulouse and Bordeaux Begles in mind, it would be a surprise if Plumtree did not select his strongest available team for the clash.
Apart from Pollard, Leicester have England fullback Freddie Steward and Argentina’s world rated captain and hooker Julian Montoya, and others, so it should be a high quality game.