Comment by Ashfak Mohamed
He may be listed as a flyhalf, but Jordan Hendrikse’s call-up yesterday in place of the injured Frans Malherbe unlocks unique possibilities for the Springboks on their November tour of the UK.
The Sharks star will join his brother Jaden and the rest of the Bok group tomorrow at their training camp in Jersey after coach Rassie Erasmus explained that there is enough prop cover for Malherbe, who picked up an ankle injury on Stormers duty last weekend.
“Jordan has been playing very well for the Sharks in the URC and he’s a capped Springbok, so he is familiar with our structures,” Erasmus said yesterday.
“This will also serve as a great opportunity for him to get further exposure at international level and in the Springbok set-up itself.
“We also have good depth among the forwards, so we opted to call up Jordan to add further depth among the backs.
“He’s a talented player, and he’s been growing in the role at his union – as we saw with his late penalty goal to earn the Sharks the Currie Cup title earlier this season and through his recent performances in the URC – so we are excited to see what he can add to the squad.
“With the UK and South Africa being in similar time zones, it would be simple to call up another prop should the need arise during the tour.”
Hendrikse’s selection is not only due to the prop depth, though, but also his versatility.
The 23-year-old from Qonce in the Eastern Cape is able to play at flyhalf, inside centre and fullback, so in that regard, he is essentially a replacement for the injured Damian Willemse, who was replaced by Bulls No 8 Cameron Hanekom on Sunday.
While Hendrikse made his Test debut against Wales in London this year at flyhalf, his multi-position skills make him an ideal candidate for the bench in any of the Tests against Scotland (Sunday, November 10), England (November 16) and the Welsh (November 23).
His big goal-kicking boot in particular could be valuable in the likely rainy conditions up north, which would make three-pointers especially important in the second half.
No one will forget Hendrikse’s monster 59-metre penalty in extra time of the Currie Cup final against the Lions at a wet Ellis Park in September, and that kind of special attribute could be handy for the world champions.
He also scored 16 points from the kicking tee for the Sharks in their 41-24 win over Munster in Durban at the weekend.
There will still be concerns about Manie Libbok’s goal-kicking heading into the trip to the UK, and while he may start some of the Tests and run the attack, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Handré Pollard wear the No 10 jersey in the biggest game of the tour against England at Twickenham on November 16.
But with the expected heavy fields due to the wet weather, a seven-one bench split in favour of the forwards would not be an entirely left-field option for the maverick Erasmus, who has adopted that approach a few times before.
So, Hendrikse is well equipped to fulfil a Willemse-type role off the bench in such a situation, especially with Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu also out injured.
Of course, one of the main goals for the Boks would be to get veteran fullback Willie le Roux to 100 Test caps – he is currently on 97, so would need to feature in all three games to reach his milestone.
But even if Hendrikse only plays against Wales, it would still be a worthwhile experience for the Sharks playmaker to be further immersed in the Bok culture over the next month.