A scrumhalf in the class of All Blacks' crackerjack halfback Aaron Smith is nowhere near South African rugby's horizon. In the meantime, the Springboks have to make do with Ross Cronje, Rudy Paige and the newly called-up Louis Schreuder.
These three are the best available, even though they pale into insignificance when compared to All Black counterparts Smith and TJ Perenara and Australia's Will Genia.
Former Bok No9 Werner "Smiley" Swanepoel said one of the reasons why South Africa's scrummies have gone backwards while every other top rugby nation's halfbacks have evolved was because of their neglect of the core basic of passing from the base of the ruck."Out of a 100 passes, Smith will pass from the base of the ruck 99 times and in South Africa, players were taught, and I don't know by who, to take steps before they pass. That's the main problem at this juncture.
Waiting for the world-class scrumhalf
"A flyhalf needs time and the time he has translates to the rest of his backs. Just think of Elton Jantjies getting the ball after two steps. He's under pressure immediately. I hope whoever invented the three-step pass goes back to the drawing board," Swanepoel said.
"A No9's priority is to get the ball out as quickly as possible to the flyhalf and I think that's what's lacking in South African rugby."Swanepoel admitted South African rugby is going through a stage where they simply have to wait for a world-class scrumhalf to come along.
For a rugby-mad nation that has always been able to call on a good No9 since 1992, it's a sad reality. This was apparent in last week's Albany annihilation where Smith's and Perenara's reliance on basics ensured the front-foot ball the All Blacks worked hard to acquire wasn't wasted.
Swanepoel said the Boks do have decent personnel to work with in Cronje's absence. The Lions man missed the record hammering because of a stomach bug.
Swanepoel felt Schreuder should have been in the Springbok squad earlier while saying Paige's service delivery is of an acceptable standard.
"Paige and Schreuder are quite similar in the passing department. The latter was in the 2013 Springbok squad and at the time, that took me by surprise," he said. "However, seeing his performances this season for the Southern Kings and the Sharks, he's got some potential. It's just unfortunate we're a bit thin at scrumhalf at the moment."When you look at Paige and his skill set, he was a very good passer and very good delivery from the base. Everyone can work on their kicking but the passing is important. Then suddenly, he started taking 700 steps before passing but in terms of Francois Hougaard, it looked like he lacked a bit of confidence."Paige and Schreuder can bring a lot to the table but there's need to adhere to the basics of a No9."
Former Springbok scrumhalf and current Sharks head coach Robert du Preez said Schreuder could add value to the Bok squad.
The 27-year-old who resurfaced successfully at the Southern Kings this season has contributed to the Sharks' good Currie Cup run...