Lions have the perfect No.10
While he is not the only candidate for the Springbok flyhalf position – and some pundits will have you believe he is certainly not the leading competitor – the 25-year-old twice-capped Bok is making sure he remains in contention.
Jantjies' display in the Lions' 43-5 demolition of the Blues in monsoon-like conditions at Ellis Park at the weekend, showed just how versatile he can be.
While he will continue to have his detractors, Lions coach Johan Ackermann believes Jantjies – and scrumhalf Ross Cronje – were at the heart of the Lions' demolition of the New Zealand outfit at the weekend.
Tactically astute, Jantjies played a key role in a number of the Lions' seven tries – two of those created with a sublime cross-field kick and a deft little chip.
Ackermann said the halfbacks' tactical acumen was key to the Africa Conference leaders' dominant performance in the testing conditions.
"We knew it [decision-making] was going to be part of the game in those conditions," Ackermann said in his post-match analysis.
"Ross [Cronje] and Elton [Jantjies] got the balance between when to kick and when to run spot on," he added.
A whirlwind start – in which they took a 19-0 lead inside the first 11 minutes – set up the Lions up the big win.
Humiliated at home by the Hurricanes in their previous match, the South Africans took out their frustrations on another New Zealand team.
A further two tries early in the second half stretched the gap to 31 points and long before the end the only undecided issue was how wide a winning margin the Lions would achieve.
"I am very proud of our performance," said Lions skipper and No.8 Warren Whiteley.
"We were hurting after conceding 50 points against the Hurricanes.
"We spoke openly among ourselves after that devastating loss and vowed to get back on the winning trail against the Blues.
"It was a wonderful all-round showing with the backs and forwards combining brilliantly.
"While Lionel Mapoe was a worthy man of the match after scoring three tries, all 15 starters and the eight players who came off the bench deserve credit."
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