Dude, where’s my flyhalf?

The absence of a specialist flyhalf in the Springbok squad has left many questioning the selections of coach Peter de Villiers ahead of a gruelling season-ending tour of the United Kingdom.

World Cup winner Butch James has been omitted as he plies his trade with Guinness Premiership giants Bath. However, he has made himself unavailable for the tour and publicly stated the 2009 British and Irish Lions tour will be his last series in the Springbok jersey.

Realistically, the options for flyhalf in the Springbok squad are Earl Rose, Frans Steyn and Ruan Pienaar – who appears to have the inside track to wear the number 10. Pienaar has, however, already stated his preferred position is scrumhalf and was encouraged by de Villiers earlier in the year to specialise at number nine.

The Sharks star is clearly talented enough to play in both positions, but in a bid to keep him in South Africa, the Sharks have been forced to play him at scrumhalf. So why now does the national coach select the player out of position? Pienaar has had no consistent run at flyhalf and throughout his career has only deputised for the regular number ten at his respective teams.

The other problem is that Pienaar is far too talented to be omitted from a Springbok side and with Fourie du Preez the incumbent number nine and Ricky Januarie waiting in the wings, it might prove a good move to have Pienaar in the side, albeit at number 10. If de Villiers is going to use Pienaar there, he needs to be given a consistent run on the UK tour and then some with the Sharks in next year’s Super 14.

Frans Steyn appeared to be the successor to Butch James earlier in the year when he was selected ahead of Pienaar to face Italy at Newlands. While he led a winning team, the wet conditions did show the flaws in Steyn’s game.

Like Pienaar, Steyn’s versatility has also proved to be a problem having played everywhere from 10-15 in the backline. The arrival of France international Frederic Michalak at the Sharks has also made de Villiers’ job much harder. Having Michalak playing at number ten meant Steyn and Pienaar were forced to shift elsewhere in the backline. For the majority of the Currie Cup Steyn played centre – the same position in which he played when the Boks won the World Cup last year.

With Jean de Villiers, Adi Jacobs and Jacque Fourie holding the aces for the centre positions, where does Steyn expect to play? Peter de Villiers may just be looking to have Steyn as an impact player with the ability to come off the bench for Pienaar. I sincerely hope that’s the way it works as we’ve seen the Sharks move Pienaar from flyhalf to scrumhalf during a game. Again, the players need to be given an extended run in one position to make sure they adapt their game effectively.

Take the example of Percy Montgomery who began his international career against the Lions in 1997 at outside centre. A brief run in the centre was followed by a move to flyhalf when Harry Viljoen took over as coach. Again, it was a short run until finally he was given the freedom of the number 15 jersey and now there are few people in the world who can argue against Montgomery’s success at the back.

The final pivot option of Earl Rose leaves me feeling very anxious as a Springbok supporter. While Rose has shown intermittent signs of brilliance in the Currie Cup, his lack of consistency and the ease at which he crumbles under the pressure makes me hope he will spend much of the tour watching from the sidelines. Having said that, Rose should not even be considered at fullback as Conrad Jantjes’ form makes him irreplaceable.

Rose’s selection quite honestly puzzles me when a player like Peter Grant is left out of the squad. Grant has international experience and has regularly played alongside Jean de Villers.

Surely South Africa has enough utility players and too few specialists?

Springbok squad – Bakkies Botha, Fourie du Preez, Bryan Habana, Chiliboy Ralepele, Danie Rossouw, Pierre Spies, Gurthro Steenkamp, Jongi Nokwe, Juan Smith, Andries Bekker, Schalk Burger, Jean de Villiers, Conrad Jantjes, Ricky Januarie, Brian Mujati, Heinrich Brussow, Jaque Fourie, Earl Rose, Victor Matfield, John Smit (c), Odwa Ndungane, JP Pietersen, Adrian Jacobs, Bismark du Plessis, Frans Steyn, Ruan Pienaar, Tendai Mtwarira, Ryan Kankowski.

On standby — Peter Grant, Jannie du Plessis, Johann Muller, Wynand Olivier, Adriaan Strauss, Heinke van der Merwe, Jano Vermaak.