Timely blooding for a pup

Former Springbok flyhalf Derick Hougaard says Handré Pollard is very lucky to get a feel of Test rugby before being fed to the wolves in England next year.

The similarities between the two pivots are striking, except for one thing so far: Hougaard won the Currie Cup, scoring a record 26 points in the 2002 final.

Both were thrust into the lime-light at an early age, making their Springbok debuts at 20. They were remarkably good goal- and field-kickers, with handy distribution - not to mentionthe Blue Bulls connection.

Heyneke Meyer has risked everything he has built in his three seasons in charge of the national team by anointing Pollard, a Junior World Championship winner, as the Springbok World Cup flyhalf a year in advance.

"There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that giving Pollard a Bok start well before the World Cup is the best decision they could make," said Hougaard, who made his own Bok debut in 2003.

"When I was in the same situation everybody expected me to make magic every time I touched the ball. That is not always possible on that international stage.

"The team dynamic becomes more crucial - and if your forwards are retreating your nine and 10 will struggle.

"You need the skill to handle the pressure when it comes. Against Samoa I almost got decapitated and my first big game was in a quarterfinal against New Zealand in a World Cup. I was just 20

"Pollard is very lucky to have a coach like Heyneke, who wants to get him into the mix as soon as possible leading up to the World Cup.

"However, I would have liked him to have played a few Currie Cup matches in succession and it would have been ideal if the Bulls had made it to the Super rugby play-offs this year so that he got used to knockout rugby before the World Cup.

"But the fact of the matter is that the guy is talented."

Pollard was among a few players who won plaudits in the 14-10 defeat to the All Blacks in Wellington last weekend.

"I coached him for a year or two [as Bulls kicking coach] and I always said his biggest asset is that he's got an unbelievable head on his shoulders for a young guy," Hou-gaard said.

"He's quite big so he is not fazed by other big guys around him and he's not fazed by the pressure to kick at goal. He is the kind of player who wants the ball in his hands when the chips are down.

"If it was any other coach mentoring Handré I would have been worried. But with Heyneke and John McFarland and guys that know the system, he could go on to earn a century of caps."