The Boks' scrumhalf factory in Durban
SPOTLIGHT: Coach Jacques Nienaber has opened up on the Springboks’ plan to develop a “fourth” scrumhalf.
And it seems the Sharks are helping the national cause when it comes to that goal.
The Boks have Francois de Klerk, Herschel Jantjies and Cobus Reinach as their main picks for the No.9 jersey.
However, 2021 has seen the Boks look at other players in an attempt to build depth at scrumhalf, like they are doing with so many other positions in the squad.
Sharks scrumhalf Sanele Nohamba was the new scrumhalf when Nienaber named his first squad of the season at the beginning of June.
The 22-year-old didn’t get an opportunity at Test level and was eventually released back to his province for Currie Cup duty.
When the Springboks were without Jantjies and De Klerk because of injuries heading into their first Rugby Championship match, it was Nohamba’s teammate Hendrikse who got the surprise nod for inclusion in the Bok squad.
Hendrikse had a great debut off the bench in the Boks’ 32-12 win over Argentina in Round One of the Rugby Championship, before he suffered a leg fracture in the 29-10 win over the same opponents in Round Two.
With Hendrikse ruled out for the remainder of the tournament, it seemed like Nohamba would have been the logical choice for the fourth scrumhalf spot for the Australasian tour.
However, that honour went to another of his teammates at the Sharks in the form of the 25-year-old Grant Williams.
Nienaber said all three of the Sharks’ scrumhalves are part of the bigger Springbok picture going forward.
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“We are looking for a fourth scrumhalf if I can say it like that – a young up-and-coming player, or an academy player that can come in and learn from the older guys,” said Nienaber.
“If you look at the Sharks, we got Sanele Nohmaba, we got Jaden Hendrikse and Grant Williams. Grant started ahead of Sanele at the Sharks, but we know what we have in Sanele.
“Sanele was with us for five or six weeks, so we had a good look at what he brings.
“We gave him a few things to work on just as we did during the alignment camps with him and Jaden.
“Then we decided to keep Sanele and sent Jaden with a lot of things to work on and we are happy with what we saw in the [Rainbow Cup/Currie Cup] matches that he played.
“When we brought him [Hendrikse] into our group we saw that he worked hard on those things and we did the same thing with Sanele.
“I saw a few of his [Nohamba’s] matches with the Sharks when he came off the bench for Grant and I am happy with what I saw.”
Nienaber added: “Grant caught us off guard with the way he does things and what he brings to the party and this is an opportunity to look at him.
“As coaches, we are looking at a youngster that we can go forward with and all three of those scrumhalves are fulfilling that role and they fit in that picture.”
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