Springboks have a huge hooker problem
The Springboks have to answer their hooker question in the coming season but the URC will be crucial in sizing up who should get the call.
Deon Fourie rightfully earned great praise for playing 75 minutes of the Rugby World Cup at hooker due to the injury to Springboks stalwart Bongi Mbonambi in the early going, but that scenario only played out because of a growing positional crisis in South African rugby.
Hooker is clearly a problem position all across the country, with none of the current backup options stacking up to injured Springboks Mbonambi and Malcolm Marx.
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URC NOT GOING GREAT FOR SA HOOKERS
A few rounds of URC rugby have exposed that lack of depth and the inconsistency of form of the players who could be asked to step up in 2024.
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The Bulls Johan Grobbelaar stands out as perhaps the best candidate and was capped by the Springboks for the first time in 2023. Grobbelaar is close to being a match for someone like Marx when it comes to carrying and even finishing. The Bulls No 2 has an eye for the tryline for sure, but his lineout throws this season have been far from unimpeachable, and the Springboks already need to improve their accuracy at this setpiece.
Akker van der Merwe has also returned to South Africa to bolster the Bulls, but at 32, it is unclear if he would be considered for a rebuilding Springboks squad.
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THE SHARKS GLUT OF HOOKERS
The Sharks inability to settle on who should be their hooker hasn’t aided the national cause especially given that one of their options is Scotland international Dylan Richardson. Dan Jooste and Kerron van Vuuren have been questioned because of their height, but both have had great moments for the Sharks without ever establishing themselves. Fez Mbatha is closer to the Springbok mould of hooker, but he currently struggles to get any game time at all in Durban.
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THE STORMERS HAVE AGING OPTIONS
Down in Cape Town, there is a similar glut of hookers fighting for game time, including promising youngsters Andre-Hugo Venter and JJ Kotze. Joseph Dweba joined the Stormers hoping to make a Springboks push, but he has been instructed to work on his lineout feed. Scarra Ntubeni is their most reliable hand, but as far as national duty goes, he is probably in the same boat as the Bulls’ van der Merwe.
LIONS BEING OVERLOOKED
The Lions PJ Botha is probably a player who deserves to be talked about more when it comes to higher honours. With the 25-year-old tied to the Lions until at least 2025, they have been out to give him the game time his skillset warrants. Botha is being well-mentored by veteran Lions hooker Jaco Visagie with whom he alternates in the No 2 jersey. We haven’t seen enough of 22-year-old prospect Morne Brandon to give him a fair evaluation.
THE URC KEY TO ANSWERING HOOKER QUESTION
Because of how the position of hooker has evolved, with many now operating as extra loose forwards at the breakdown as well as devastating and combative ball carriers but one of the basics of the No 2 role remains finding your jumpers in the lineout.
The 2023/2024 URC season will be important from a Springbok point of view as Rassie Erasmus will want to identify candidates who could offer world-class options at hooker.