LIAM DEL CARME | Time for Bok hopefuls to make their mark

The Champions Cup kicks off this week, and it’s not capturing the trophy that will drive South African ambition in the elite competition.

It is the competition which bears the closest resemblance to Test rugby as Europe and South Africa’s elite clash for supremacy.

It is a competition in which South African teams still need to establish themselves but this year’s instalment also provides the canvas on which some of the country’s best emerging talent can show their wares.

The Springbok team that won the Rugby World Cup will be in transition over the next few years but there is an early opportunity to steal the march on potential rivals.

Players outside the RWC group have the opportunity to declare their battle readiness as director of rugby Rassie Erasmus and Co start building for the next RWC in Australia in 2027.

Apart from the established winners in the group, the Bok selectors also have a group of players who just missed out on selection.

The Stormers’ Evan Roos played five Tests, including two this year before he failed to crack the nod for the RWC squad. His last game for the Boks was against Argentina in Buenos Aires on the eve of the RWC squad announcement.

With Duane Vermeulen now retired it is open season in the battle for the No 8 jersey, though Jasper Wiese occupies the inside lane.

Junior Pokomela’s star has been blipping on the Bok radar but backrow competition is stiff. Another Stormer Ben-Jason Dixon has also emerged as a candidate for higher honours. His explosiveness may well move him up the queue sooner rather than later.

The top performers for the Sharks, Lions and Cheetahs face the disadvantage of starting their quest for Green and Gold in the less exalted Challenge Cup.

Like Roos, Salmaan Moerat has also had a taste of what it’s like to be a Bok. The decorated captain will, however, have to rid himself of the injury bogey that has been such a drag on his career.

Among the Stormers’ backs, the virtues of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu are increasingly thrust into the wider Bok discourse. He too is a former schoolboy prodigy and his ability to play across various positions should make him an attractive prospect. Selection in the wider Bok group on last year’s end of year tour left no-one in doubt he is knocking on the door.

The Bulls too have several players who can use the Champions Cup as a springboard.

Like Roos, Elrigh Louw also fell short this year as the Boks explored backrow options elsewhere. The last of Louw’s three Tests came against Argentina in Buenos Aires last year.

He has seen more game time with a seven on his back and will be closely monitored in the Champions Cup. Ditto prop Gerhard Steenekamp who has had a taste of life in the Bok camp.

Similarly lock Ruan Nortje is expected to take his career to the next level in this Champions Cup campaign. In his sole Test thus far Nortje, a fine line-out exponent, and his teammates failed to rise to the occasion when the Boks lost to Wales in Bloemfontein last year.

Tighthead prop Wilco Louw is well and truly rebuilding his Test credentials. He has played in 14 Tests, the last in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium two years ago. Johan Grobbelaar and Jan-Hendrik Wessels are tight forwards who are also earmarked for higher honours.

Winning regularly in a Bulls jersey will only aid that process.

The top performers for the Sharks, the Lions and the Cheetahs face the disadvantage of starting their quest for Green and Gold in the less exalted Challenge Cup.

Lions flank Ruan Venter is a player identified as one with huge potential, with Henco van Wyk drawing similar plaudits in midfield.

Sanele Nohamba has caught the attention with some splendid performances at flyhalf in recent weeks.

Teammate Jordan Hendrikse, who is Sharks bound next year, lost ground this year after injury reduced his match time. He will have to find his groove at the Sharks where the competition is stiff, and the expectations are high.

That of course goes for most at the Sharks. Aphelele Fassi and Aphiwe Dyantyi can argue they have unfinished business in the Bok jersey, but performing consistently and doing so without the ball tucked under an arm is a box they need to tick.