It was what Quan Horn did running in training as a flyhalf that prompted Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus to give the Fidelity SecureDrive Lions fullback the No 10 jersey for Saturday’s opening match of the International season against the Barbarians.
With Manie Libbok available and the other alternative flyhalf Damian Willemse also in the squad it came as something of a surprise to learn that Horn would be fronting in the main playmaking position. However, like Lukhanyo Am’s selection to the inside centre position for the South Africa A game against Zimbabwe that will be played as a curtain-raiser to the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium main event, it is an experiment that makes a lot of sense.
In explaining the selection, Erasmus said that the amount of rugby Manie Libbok has played in Japan building up to the start of the international season made it wise to rest the former Stormers player, while Handre Pollard is of course overseas with the Vodacom Bulls preparing for Friday night’s Vodacom URC final against Leinster in Dublin.
“Manie has played a lot of rugby in Japan recently and we want to manage him properly,” said the Bok coach.
“We must also wait on Handre getting through the URC final without injury, while Sacha (Feinberg-Mngomezulu) is already injured. So it gives us a chance to look at Quan.”
Erasmus said that Horn had impressed himself and the assistant coaches in training and added that having the Lions player capable of playing both fullback and flyhalf would add to the versatility available to the squad and help facilitate a 6/2 ‘bomb squad’ split between forwards and Boks in matches going forward.
“The other assistant coaches, all of us, really see something in him when it comes to No 10,” he said.
“What he does for the Lions, maybe he doesn’t have a 10 on his back, but he certainly comes into the mix a lot as first receiver. We’ve worked with him for three years now in training sessions and we really like the way he takes the ball to the line. He’s an awesome defender, he’s got a really great pass and he is not afraid if someone runs into that channel. That’s important for us.”
There’ll be another player getting a chance at flyhalf in the Barbarians game, with Erasmus saying he had a high regard for the Hollywoodbets Sharks Junior Bok Vusi Moyo, who made his senior debut for the Durban side in the last match of the season.
“Vusi, who is on the bench, is one of the guys who has really caught the eye. He’s really calm, physical and kicks without effort. So we think the two of them can do the job for us.”
On the other side of the experience spectrum, World Cup winning centre Am will make his return to South African rugby after his season in Japan by playing in the less familiar inside centre position for SA A against Zimbabwe, something that SA A coach and Bok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick was driven by the Bok attack coach Tony Brown.
“I will be honest, since he joined us, one of Tony’s first messages was that he’d love to see Lukhanyo at 12,” said Stick.
And neither will it be an unfamiliar role for Am in the Bok setup as he has trained a lot there.
“He ran there in training a lot when he was with us last year. But we couldn’t get the opportunity because we had Damian de Allende and Andre Esterhuizen (the latter will wear the Bok No 12 against the Barbarians). We looked at the players available and with his experience, it was a great opportunity for Lukhanyo to get an opportunity there.”
Am, although renowned worldwide for his attacking play at outside centre, where he starred for the Boks in the 2019 World Cup final against England, does have great creative qualities and pundits such as the former Bok wing and Supersport analyst Odwa Ndungane have long argued that he should be given a chance to show what he can do in the No 12 jersey.
He did play there occasionally for the Sharks but the Sharks always had other players on their books, such as Esterhuizen, who made it more sensible for him to play at 13.