Former Boks winger Akona Ndungane worried about flyhalf position

As the Springboks continue preparations for the Rugby World Cup in France next year, former winger Akona Ndungane says while the team has enough depth he is worried about the flyhalf position.

A knee injury forced Handrè Pollard out of the end-of-year tour to Europe, where the Boks lost to Ireland and France before beating Italy and take on England in their final game at Twickenham on Saturday.

Coach Jacques Nienaber has also not been able to call on the experience of Elton Jantjies, who has joined French second division side Agen and is dealing with off-field problems.

In the absence of Pollard and Jantjies, Nienaber has put the kicking faith in Damian Willemse, Cheslin Kolbe and recently the inexperienced Manie Libbok, but Ndungane says an experienced driver is needed in that crucial position.

“The biggest concern for me is at '10' because Elton or Handrè are not there,” said Ndungane, a World Cup winner in 2007.

“Damian is doing a good job at the moment, but we need a specialist '10'. We need someone who can drive the team and someone who can be calm under pressure.

“We must find a '10' that we can back if Handrè or Elton are not in the squad. No. 10 is a very important position for the team and you need a driver.”

Ndungane said another area he was concerned about was outside centre in the absence of Lukhanyo Am.

“I feel every other position is sort of covered, but with Lukhanyo not being there we are a bit short at ‘13’. There are a few players who have put up their hands up for their respective unions, like Henco van Wyk at the Lions.

“We have some youngsters who are coming through, but there is not enough time left before the World Cup. But it is not like a panic situation. There are players who can fit in there if needs be. I think they are in a comfortable position at the moment.

“I don’t think we should panic, especially after the convincing win over Italy last weekend. We played against the top two teams in the world in Ireland and France, and we lost by a few points.

“Those games could have gone either way if it was not for a missed kick to the poles or forward pass. I think there is a lot of improvement from the Springboks. The way we played against those teams shows we can prevent them from scoring tries.

“We know Ireland like to play with ball in hand, but we managed to nullify that and not allow them to play and score tries like they used to. Even against France, we had more ball carriers, and we beat Italy by 60 points, and that is good for the confidence of the players.”