Few people may know it, but Springbok prodigy Jan-Hendrik Wessels was almost lost to South African rugby.
An overly ambitious recruitment programme by French club Clermont targeted Grey College stars for big money contracts in the French Top 14.
The ambition was clear. Because of the so-called JIFF system in France, players needed to be French-qualified to play for the national team and a club is only allowed a certain number of foreigners. So the idea was to recruit top class young players - as France has successfully done in Fiji - and integrate them into the Top 14 system so that they could turn out for France when they matured into top class players.
Thankfully for Springbok rugby, the system was a failure, and very few of the Grey College recruits remained in France. Wessels was one of those who returned, a bit disillusioned with the culture and environment he had gotten into.
French rugby may have the money but it wasn’t for him.
The combination of being a teenager in a foreign country, not understanding the language and not having the support system didn’t work.
As he said on his return to Pretoria: “Their junior system isn’t like it is in South Africa, there are fewer teams here, so the 23 that play are the best. I’ve always wanted to make friends through rugby, but you first have to learn the language, so it is difficult.
“Here in South Africa it is lekker. You can braai, you have your friends, and you can do lekker things.”
NO-NONSENSE PLAYER
The honesty of what it means to be a South African rugby player may be a bit overplayed at times, but Wessels is a no-nonsense player. Even in his days at Grey College, where he alternated between prop and lock - he simply put his head down and bullocked his way forward. Packing down in the same front row as Andre-Hugo Venter underlined the pedigree of his team, joining the hundreds of household names that have hailed from the school before.
Wessels, you see, is that player that at school caught everyone’s imagination. A player who could outrun backline players, but mix it up physically with the forwards. He is a player that can be explosive in a small area, and do the basics just as well.
And while he continues his rise in South African rugby, one thing is for sure - the Springboks certainly rate him and see him as a big part of the 2027 plan. A player who can become a “swinger” - cover both loosehead and hooker - is rare in rugby nowadays. Both are specialist positions, and to cover both a player needs to have an incredible amount of focus and talent.
It is clear that the Boks have been watching Wessels for a long time now, and have been impressed with his ability. With his growth slowed at franchise level, they have taken it upon themselves to get him into international rugby as early as possible, to try and aid his development as quickly as possible.
As in all things with this Springbok team - there is most certainly a plan.
“We earmarked Jan-Hendrik Wessels from our Elite Player Development (EPD) system from under 15 level, when he was playing prop then,” Erasmus explained earlier this season when Wessels was picked for the Bok squad.
“We don’t have control over where the franchises select the players, but with him being able to play hooker and prop it offers us additional options among the forwards.”
Erasmus added the Boks were looking to expose players as quickly as possible to the rigours of test rugby and that is why - more than anywhere else - his rise to the national team is being watched with such interest.
QUESTIONS OVER POSITION
Even though he has been so highly rated, the question is just where he needs to play to continue his development. The Boks see him primarily as a prop, while the Bulls started him off at prop and then moved him to hooker.
With quality senior players in both positions, Wessels hasn’t had a lot of game time in the past season, and whether his franchise coach Jake White sees his long term future at prop, or Bok coach Rassie Erasmus sees it at loosehead, somewhere some common ground needs to be found.
That he is an exciting prospect is not to be underplayed, as three former Springboks in Jean de Villiers, Schalk Burger and Hanyani Shimange pointed out on a recent episode of The Verdict.
“I don’t think the scrum test was that big,” Shimange said about his debut against Portugal.
“But Wessels doesn’t have enough minutes for me at loosehead prop but at hooker he does, but his point of difference is that if you had to watch him playing touch rugby you don’t know whether he’s a prop or centre because he is so good and explosive.” Burger agreed.
“You’ll see him pop up a lot in running these support lines that you would normally see from a hooker,” he added.
“It was great to see him on those support lines but he either has to be a hooker or a loosehead, he cannot be both.”
Shimange added that Wessels need to settle on one position.
“I remember when he arrived at the Bulls Jake White said he was the next Os du Randt and then he was the next John Smit. He is going to have to find a position otherwise he’s always going to be a squad player where he can be used at loosehead or at hooker – he is going to have to find a place where he can fire from.
“From an athletic point of view, he carries he runs, he cleans, he does everything and he’s good enough as an athlete that if you give him enough time at loosehead prop – he will become a dominant aggressive scrummager but whether he’s going to be given the time or not is another question.
“At the Bulls it was Akker and Grobbelaar, so he was even the third-choice hooker and out of the mix at a stage – so where does he sit?”
LOOSEHEAD THAT CAN PLAY HOOKER
It is clear though that Erasmus does see him as part of the Bok future, and precisely because of that he included him to face Australia, saying it would be a “big test” for him.
“He isn’t just a loosehead. We had him here in the mix because we were worried if Malcolm (Marx) would make it. I think Johan Grobbelaar and Andre-Hugo Venter, we needed to make a decision who is the number three hooker and we rested Bongi (Mbonambi) this week to give Grobbies a chance.
"He needs to get a decent chance. Jan-Hendrik is a swinger between a loosehead and hooker. We know this may be a big test for Jan-Hendrik this weekend but hopefully he makes it,” Erasmus said.
Wessels laughed when asked the question about the position he preferred during his media appearance this week.
“I jumped the other day in the lineouts as well, so I’m not really sure,” Wessels laughed when asked whether he was a hooker who likes to play prop or vice versa.
“To be honest, I just want to play, and am working daily on my lineout throws and my scrums. Coach Daan (Human) and Deon (Davids) are helping me. Duane (Vermeulen) helps me as does Malcolm (Marx) and Bongi (Mbonambi). To keep both as sharp as possible is probably the most important thing for me.
“I don’t think I’m at a place where I can say I want to only play one position. At the moment I’m working hard on both to make sure I’m the best I can be in both.”
But one thing is certain. The Boks know they have a diamond in the rough in their grasp and they want to ensure that he develops into an explosive international force for the future.
This weekend’s test may be a massive one, but the learning curve will be steep.
The quicker everyone gets on the same page about Wessels’ future, the better for Springbok rugby.