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Over the weekend we saw the Test debut of Handre Pollard, who is destined to become a great Springboks number 10.
Pollard got his chance to play for the Springboks when Morne Steyn, the old iron hands with the infallible kicking boot, was not eligible to play.
Pollard replaced him, even though he has only played a handful of Super Rugby matches. He has been a star at three IRB under-20s Championships, including the 2014 tournament where he was correctly judged Player of the Tournament.
Still a youngster, Pollard is rangy and likely to be a physically big when the gym work starts to kick in. He is fast. He takes the line on fearlessly – indeed, his first touch in Test rugby saw him charging into the Scots’ defensive line.
He plays flat on attack and with accurate passing pushes his centres and wingers into strong attacking positions.
He has a big punt out of hand and is an accurate enough goal kicker, scoring five conversions in the Springboks 55-6 thrashing of Scotland at Port Elizabeth.
With Pollard running the backs, the Springboks looked like a more complete and dangerous side than in recent times.
Another impressive newcomer for the Springboks was the giant, athletic second-rower Lood de Jager. This youngster won copious supplies of lineout ball, tackled strongly and ran like an athlete when he was in the open field.
De Jager got his chance because Bakkies Botha was unavailable, out through an injury.
These two most impressive debuts took place because older players whose time at the top levels is really past could not play, for one reason or another. The Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer had the good sense and courage to play the youngsters who rewarded him with terrific displays.
As a consequence, the Springboks thrashed Scotland when last year they had struggled to defeat them at Nuisprit. This Scotland side, too, on paper and performance, with three wins in a row, was a stronger side than the 2013 model.
The moral is that when coaches are in doubt they should opt for the young talent on the up over the old talent on the slide.
This principle needs to be applied in Australia, with the discussion about whether players not in the Super Rugby tournament can be eligible to play for the Wallabies. The argument has been complicated a bit by side arguments about sabbaticals for senior or irreplaceable players (read: Israel Folau).
Take this side issue away, the argument about allowing players not in the Super Rugby tournament to play for the Wallabies has been driven, in the main, by managers of the leading players. There is a lot of money in it for the overseas players and their managers. But there is not really much in it for the Wallabies or Australian rugby.
Bill Pulver, initially, got a lot of flak for starting quite unequivocally that the Wallabies had to be selected from local players. But Pulver’s reasons were sound and in the best interests of the ARU.
First, allowing players to go and come back to the Wallabies diminishes the quality of the Australian teams in the Super Rugby tournament. There can be no argument about this. Look at the dismal showing by the South African Super Rugby teams (aside from the Sharks) in this year’s tournament.
Second, in time the overseas allowance system will diminish the quality of the Wallabies. The teams in Europe play up to 30 matches a year. Although the travelling is nowhere as intense as Super Rugby, the playing schedule is so tough that players, especially the overseas players who are expected to front up every week for their high salaries, get burnt out.
After the lacklustre performance by the Springboks in the second Test this year against Wales, Meyer was complaining that his players (and especially the overseas players) were “fatigued”.
Closer to home, Kane Douglas has decided to leave the Waratahs. This opened up the chance for Will Skelton to start against Wales, and to make a mark as exciting as that left by Lood de Jager.
Kurtley Beale is talking about leaving forrugby league or overseas. As Wayne Smith pointed out in a recent article in The Australian, Beale has been treated extremely well by the ARU when his behaviour probably warranted a tougher approach than was actually made. Beale owes Australian rugby a lot more than he has given back to the code.
The improvement in the play of Bernard Foley at number 10, too, should remove any thoughts by Beale and his managers that he is indispensable.
With professionalism, young players are coming into big time rugby far better prepared and coached than they ever were in the past amateur era, when training was two nights a week. Young players like Pollard, de Jager and Skelton can step into Super Rugby and even Test rugby and give man of the match performances.
For years, the thinking in Queensland rugby has been that the Reds are shot birds without Quade Cooper. But how good was Ben Lucas for the Reds last weekend? He played, like Foley and unlike Cooper and Beale, close to the advantage line. The Reds backs and forwards flourished with his distribution.
The play, too, of Nick Frisby indicated that Will Genia is not indispensable for the Reds.
This is how it should be. When Genia and Cooper come back they will go immediately – or should go immediately, if Richard Graham wants to avoid making a Todd Blackadder type of selection mistake – into the starting side. But once there, these two stars have to perform or make way for their young rivals.
I have always liked the story about the young Dan Carter being called into Robbie Deans’ office and asked what his goal at the Crusaders was for that year.
“To take over Andrew Mehrtens’ starting position,” Carter replied.
“Good answer,” Deans told him.
Handre Pollard is the nearest thing to a young Dan Carter since… the young Dan Carter.