It’s going to take more than a single player in a single position to get South African rugby back on the track to victory, but a good place to start would be the place of power, agility, stamina and courage traditionally occupied by the scrumhalf.
Rugby is a tremendous game for many reasons. It’s savagely physical, yet bizarrely well refined. Complex in nature yet beautifully fluid once the players rampage up the field. It is a game where a variety of expertise comes together. From a robustly-built man, primarily chosen to push in a forward direction, to a player possessing super human speed and agility to run great distances and evade on coming tacklers.
One position that has always fascinated me has been the scrumhalf. Growing up playing schoolboy rugby, that was my position, and I loved the role it provided during the course of the match.
Linking the forwards to the backs, so much of the play involves the scrumhalf, requiring the player in this position to possess a wide variety of skills. Agility and stamina are key to always keep up with the play, strength is vital to hold your own in a wide array of contact situations, a superb range of ball skills to distribute the ball efficiently to provide the flyhalf with time and space to operate, and of course an all round kicking game for both defensive and attacking situations.
Most importantly, the scrumhalf needs the coolest of heads, and the greatest understanding of the play. Knowing what to do and when is often the difference between a team winning and losing at the highest level, and if your scrumhalf is getting this wrong, the latter may very well be the outcome.
South African rugby has been blessed with some amazing scrumhalves over the years. Players who have not only exhibited all the attributes I have just put forward, but also courage and tenacity that have driven teams forward.
The late Joost van der Westhuizen was a shining example, and of course perhaps the greatest all round scrumhalf of modern times, Fourie Du Preez, was the kind of player whose presence provided an air of quiet confidence to any team he appeared in.
Who are the generals of today’s sides though? Where are the players with the mercurial skills and hearts of Jack Russels? Watching the Springboks in their latest thrashing at the hands of the All Blacks, you really felt the team was lacking someone who could pull things together, and provide some composure to at least stop the bleeding.
Obviously no single player can turn a match for a team at the highest level, but they can certainly make for a more effective unit. The Boks have many challenges right now that perhaps go past even the guys who are pulling on the jerseys. But I can’t help but wonder that a position as key as scrumhalf is severely lacking in quality right now.
You can’t run a company with a CEO lacking in essential leadership qualities, or a finance manager who isn’t completely complaint in all areas of the business. Similarly a scrumhalf simply making up the numbers is a massive liability.
This brings me to where we are in our careers, and when it comes to landing that dream job that may appear as difficult as getting selected for a top level sports team.
It is not enough for us to just be suitable for a position. We really have to be excellent in all aspects required. We need to upskill ourselves where necessary, and continue to work on areas where we know we can improve. It’s a hunger for responsibility, a desire to go beyond what is expected. This defines a great scrumhalf and a great rugby player.
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