Utility back Braam van Straaten could be recalled by the Springboks for TriNations clashes with New Zealand and Australia this month. Desperate for a reliable goal-kicker, embattled coach Harry Viljoen is set to include the Western Province outhalf-cum-centre in a 28-man squad to be named today.
While Van Straaten can be deadly from place-kicks, he lacks imagination with the ball in hand, leading to a stop-start international career in which his last appearance was against England seven months ago.
But, given the erratic form of full back Percy Montgomery and outhalf Butch James, who have success rates of less than 75per cent, Viljoen has little choice. Media speculation suggests a Van Straaten-Robbie Fleck centre partnership for the opening match of the annual southern hemisphere championship against the All Blacks in Cape town on July 21st.
Montgomery, whose love-hate relationship with South African rugby followers continues, is the obvious choice at full back and James, who missed the hollow victory over Italy last weekend because he was suspended after fouling French winger David Bory in the second Test, should return to the pivotal post.
Probable first-choice scrumhalf Joost van der Westhuizen, who regained his place in the side after previous coach Nick Mallett was sacked, has slammed critics of the older generation in the Springbok squad that shared a two-Test series against France before taking 45 minutes to finally subdue Italy.
Van der Westhuizen, who is one of the few survivors from the 1995 World Cup winning side still in the international set-up, has himself been the target of some of this criticism and the normally loyal Viljoen is believed to be casting around for a replacement for the veteran.
Viljoen is thought to be mulling over adding Craig Davidson, who was a controversial omission for the French Tests after a superb Super 12 campaign with the Coastal Sharks, to the scrumhalf roster along with Neil de Kock who started against Italy.
However, van der Westhuizen, who captained the Springboks at the 1999 World Cup, but rarely looked at ease alongside Mallett at press conferences, mounted a strong defence of himself and his fellow oldtimers. "Some critics believe there is no place for veterans and it is sad that so-called old players get blamed when things go wrong. We still have a contribution to make," van der Westhuizen protested.
The coach, who is attacked daily by a media increasingly unhappy with many of his selections, is expected to make one change up front with tight-head prop Cobus Visagie returning to the squad at the expense of Etienne Fynn, the first black forward to represent the Springboks but axed from the first XV after a torrid first Ttest against the French.
Visagie failed a drug test last year, but won an appeal and toured Argentina with Western Province recently. One forward guaranteed a place is reserve hooker Lukas van Biljon, who came on for injured John Smit against Italy and made such an impact in the tight and loose that he was named man of the match.
Meanwhile, it is reported that South African Rudy Joubert has signed a two-year contract to coach Cardiff. Joubert still hopes to coach the Springboks and a clause in his contract stipulates he must be freed if the national post is offered to him.
