Elton Jantjies

[Melhor Time]

Clearly the Lions are not a good team but I´ve been following Elton Jantjies and think he is a very good player. Better than Morne Steyn, but thats not saying much. deVilleirs named four flyhalves in his recent squad - Peter Grant, Patrick Lambie, Morne Steyn and Elton Jantjies. These four plus Butch James would be the guys for the RWC and two or maybe three will be picked.

I´d pick Elton Jantjies for sure. He is everything that M Steyn is not. Seriously, for South Africa to win the RWC M Steyn cannot be the starting flyhalf. He simply does not have what it takes in attack and RWC have other kicking options who are superior players.

I´d actually like to see 10 Pienaar, 12 François Steyn with Jantjies on the bench. One of M Steyn or Butch James would be in the squad but out of the 22.

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

I prefer Lambie over Jantjies because he is more reliable with his kicking and set-plays. Lambie has shown he can really perform under pressure and can also play at inside center.

 

[Amobokoboko]

The difference between Lambie and Jantjies is that Lambie is playing in a solid team and can make errors to learn and to develop further. Where Jantjies doesn't have that luxury. I also rate Sias Ebersohn quiet high as a losskakel :-

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Sias Ebersohn has stepped up this year, just like Riaan Viljoen and Sarel Pretorius. Despite that, I don't yet rate him as highly as Lambie and Jantjies.

 

[Amobokoboko]

True but with PdV as a coach you could expect everything. It would be great to see those guys in the Tri nations.

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Knowing Helium de Villiers, we will have Stegmann, Kirchner, Morne Steyn, Habana and Bakkies Botha in stead of Alberts, Lambie, Grant, Basson and Bekker. In my post-RWC favorite starting line-up, I would put Lambie at inside center pairing up together with Juan de Jongh, Peter Grant at 10, Pienaar as scrum-half with Basson and Pietersen on the wing and Francois Steyn full-back

 

[Amobokoboko]

I hope the young guys get a fair chance, with a wee bit of bad luck the French and English top clubs may be spending some money this summer.

 

[Darwin]

While Elton Jantjies looks to be a very talented player, from what I've seen (which admittedly is not a huge amount) he doesn't look ready for test rugby in my opinion. He is brilliant at taking the ball to line in attack, but I'm yet to be convinced that he has the ability to direct his team around the park, he makes quite a few basic errors, and his goal-kicking is a bit sub-standard. In many ways he reminds me of Aaron Cruden. Jantjies also misses quite a few tackles on defense, and I believe would be targeted at test level (not that bad defense would necessarily rule him out - Quade Cooper is a worse defensive player - just that the likes of Morne Steyn, Peter Grant, and Pat Lambie are better defensive players).

I just don't think that Jantjies style of play suits test rugby at this stage, though I do think he has the potential to be a world-class test first-five. I do like the look of Sias Ebersohn and I think his style of play would test rugby, but he, like Jantjies, is still a couple of years away in my opinion. If I was the Boks coach I would have Lambie as my 10, as he looks made for test rugby despite his young age. Though personally I wouldn't pick Morne Steyn (I'd have Lambie and Grant, with backup from Pienaar), I wouldn't completely rule him out as he is still an accurate goal-kicker (though I don't think his kicking % is as good as in previous years), directs the team around the field well, and has experience at test level (which can be vital in a close matches).

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

The issue with his goalkicking is that the Lions have lost at least 4 matches due to bad kicking (missed conversions and penalties). Lambie did the same last year in the Currie Cup and got his kicking to the next level. If Elton can do that as well, he is a serious contender for one of the spots in the Bok squad

 

[Feicarsinn]

South African Outhalf? Surely Elgar Watts has to be in there! Go Pumas!

 

[dan the man]

I really do rate Lambie and Jantjes but they are both still young and should be around for the next RWC.
But I think that Morne will get the nod in the big games... purely because of his goal kicking.

How were the points scored in the 2007 Final???

 

[Seaton]

Good prospect, bit erratic with regards to form, which is to be expected of course

To me it looksk like he should spend a little more time in the gym, his abdomen looks as soft as a baby's, and he doesn't look he could do the Lambie vs. Burger hand-off from the CC final last year. A little bit of muscle will do his physicality and confidence a world of good.

I still think Johan Goosen is going to be a future star, can't wait for the u20 world cup to see him in action again

 

[psychic duck]

I saw Jantjes play against the Barbarians in December and he played Ok but his goal kicking was poor, and I agree with Dan the Man that Steyn is always going to play the big matches because of his goal kicking.

But if Jantjes turns out to be good, imagine how much of marketing boost would he be too the Springboks to have a black fly half, which is normally a position that white players have.

As a neutral I hope he will get to be Springboks #1 as he is far more exciting to watch than Steyn

 

[Melhor Time]

I saw Jantjes play against the Barbarians in December and he played Ok but his goal kicking was poor, and I agree with Dan the Man that Steyn is always going to play the big matches because of his goal kicking.

But if Jantjes turns out to be good, imagine how much of marketing boost would he be too the Springboks to have a black fly half, which is normally a position that white players have.

As a neutral I hope he will get to be Springboks #1 as he is far more exciting to watch than Steyn

Steyn was the flyhalf in South Africa´s below par matches in 2010 with him clearly unable to spark attack. He was poor and unable to produce anything other than from kicking for the posts. Besides Pienaar and François Steyn are both great goal kicking options and should both be in the starting lineup.

Goal Kicking should not be the motivation in thinking. In 2007 Argentina dropped their wonder boot (Todeschini) to play Hernández at 10 and the result was a huge success. England did the same with their´s (Wilkinson) and have been enjoying a significant improvement in back play (Flood).

If South Africa want to be bullies then go for Morne Steyn. If they want to be more open then go to anyone else. Interestingly the Bulls´aged forwards are not very successful this season, suggesting the plan of bash from the Bulls dominated pack with Steyn at 10 should indeed be on the out.

Can Jantjies be called black? In the country I live in he would not be called black. He´d be moreno which is brown skinned a clear difference from calling someone dark or white. His name says it all.

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Can we please stop the whole black/white/coloured debate when it comes to South Africans? They are South African, end of story

 

[Amobokoboko]

Was thinking the same.

 

[Darwin]

Steyn was the flyhalf in South Africa´s below par matches in 2010 with him clearly unable to spark attack. He was poor and unable to produce anything other than from kicking for the posts. Besides Pienaar and François Steyn are both great goal kicking options and should both be in the starting lineup.

Goal Kicking should not be the motivation in thinking. In 2007 Argentina dropped their wonder boot (Todeschini) to play Hernández at 10 and the result was a huge success. England did the same with their´s (Wilkinson) and have been enjoying a significant improvement in back play (Flood).

If South Africa want to be bullies then go for Morne Steyn. If they want to be more open then go to anyone else. Interestingly the Bulls´aged forwards are not very successful this season, suggesting the plan of bash from the Bulls dominated pack with Steyn at 10 should indeed be on the out.

Can Jantjies be called black? In the country I live in he would not be called black. He´d be moreno which is brown skinned a clear difference from calling someone dark or white. His name says it all.

I disagree, goal-kicking ability should be a very important factor in deciding which 10 South Africa should pick. Unless François Steyn is starting at fullback and has developed into an accurate kicker (he always had huge range, but seemed a bit erratic to me) South Africa can't afford to play a poor goal-kicker like Jantjies at 10. Apart from 1987 there has been an average of 1 try per RWC final, with the results of most of these finals decided by goalkicking.

The Hernandez/Todeschini and Flood/Wilkinson situations are slightly misleading - while it is clear that both Todeschini and Wilkinson were superior kickers, both teams still had international quality goal-kickers playing (Contemponi and Flood), Jantjies is not an international quality goal-kicker. I'm not saying I would pick Morne Steyn, just that you need to have a quality goal-kicker playing. Both Peter Grant and Pat Lambie are certainly in that category, and would be good options if the South African selectors decide they don't want Steyn.

 

[Bossco]

For the WC there is no other option other than Steyn simply due to the negative and conservative style of play they will adopt, definately no place for a player like Janties.

Post though it would be great to see an investment made in redeveloping and catching up to aus/n.z in playing the running game, reckon Janties has the potential to be part of that.

 

[Amobokoboko]

If I were P Diddy I would ask Percy to make his comeback for the RWC and try to play my senior team that has won it in 2007

 

[Shaggy]

While Elton Jantjies looks to be a very talented player, from what I've seen (which admittedly is not a huge amount) he doesn't look ready for test rugby in my opinion. He is brilliant at taking the ball to line in attack, but I'm yet to be convinced that he has the ability to direct his team around the park, he makes quite a few basic errors, and his goal-kicking is a bit sub-standard. In many ways he reminds me of Aaron Cruden. Jantjies also misses quite a few tackles on defense, and I believe would be targeted at test level (not that bad defense would necessarily rule him out - Quade Cooper is a worse defensive player - just that the likes of Morne Steyn, Peter Grant, and Pat Lambie are better defensive players).

I just don't think that Jantjies style of play suits test rugby at this stage, though I do think he has the potential to be a world-class test first-five. I do like the look of Sias Ebersohn and I think his style of play would test rugby, but he, like Jantjies, is still a couple of years away in my opinion. If I was the Boks coach I would have Lambie as my 10, as he looks made for test rugby despite his young age. Though personally I wouldn't pick Morne Steyn (I'd have Lambie and Grant, with backup from Pienaar), I wouldn't completely rule him out as he is still an accurate goal-kicker (though I don't think his kicking % is as good as in previous years), directs the team around the field well, and has experience at test level (which can be vital in a close matches).

Once again I find myself agreeing with you Darwin ... Jantjies looks too small to me, and doesn't seem a good fit for the kick and chase/up and under kicking game that P.Div seems to want to play. This makes M.Steyn and Grant more likely options, with Lambie possibly the best bench option due to his versatility/ability to play other positions

... If the Boks did play Jantjies, i'd expect that Heinrich Brussow would have to make a lot of covering tackles for Jantjies as Pocock does for Cooper