VIDEO: Jantjies cracked under pressure ... again
REACTION: Flyhalf Elton Jantjies proved once again that he is a liability at Test level for the Springboks.
With a series victory already secured, Jantjies was given an opportunity to shine in the third Test against England at Newlands, but it was the exact opposite for the 27-year-old.
In difficult conditions, Jantjies’ kicking game was atrocious and his overall decision-making was not up to standard for an international flyhalf. His handling also left a lot to be desired in a crucial position.
With things going pear-shaped, Jantjies was eventually replaced by first-choice flyhalf Handre Pollard with just over 20 minutes to go.
After the game, Bok head coach Rassie Erasmus was not short of excuses for the Lions flyhalf.
* Article continues below the video …
“I said I don’t like to take off the No.10 when he is making decisions. I feel as long as the No.10 is making decisions you can judge if it is good or bad and you can go and fix it afterwards,” said Erasmus.
“He [Jantjies] is a grown man and he understands that. It was just piling up – the pressure was onto him; our pack wasn’t really dominating like they were dominating in the previous games. It was wet, there were some young outside backs next to him, so overall, I thought the pressure was on Elton and at that stage when I subbed him I thought I could relieve that pressure and still win the Test.
“It is definitely not just Elton’s problem. Our pack did not dominate this game.
“Handre was almost having an armchair ride in previous games, while Elton was under much more pressure.”
After Saturday’s performance, Erasmus acknowledged that he still has a lot of work to do to get some of his players up to a suitable standard for Test rugby.
“People on the outside might think this is the last-chance saloon for him [Jantjies], but we might be thinking in the long term.
“Today [Saturday] we learned a few things and we just didn’t learn about Elton. We learned a lot of other things about wet weather and our kicking game. He is a strong character and he has got two three Super Rugby games to get his confidence back again”, Erasmus added.
By Warren Fortune
@FortuneWarren
@rugby365com
