The coronavirus pandemic has not been kind to mankind in general.
But saam met die bitter kom daar altyd n bietjie soet.
I predicted at the start of this whole shutdown drama that there will be light at the end of the tunnel and for some, that light is beginning to show.
Our friends in the UK is nou nie op hul bekke geval nie.
While we here in South Africa have to tiptoe and watch what we say around every corner, those manne throw everything on the table.
It’s from England that we learnt that new Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber has already identified players he wants to take a closer look at, when Sale Sharks coach Steve Diamond announced earlier in the week that all of his South African-born players – bar former Stormers utility forward Cobus Wiese – have been called up to camp with the Boks as they prepare for the Rugby Championship.
That list, ladies and gentlemen, includes the names of Rohan Janse van Rensburg and Robert du Preez.
You can add Faf de Klerk, Coenie Oosthuizen, the injured Lood de Jager, Akker van der Merwe and Du Preez’s twin brothers Dan and Jean-Luc to the mix also.
For this column, though, I want to focus on the stars that might get a second chance in the Green and Gold.
Still only 25, die gespierde Van Rensburg was once the next big star of South African rugby.
But after playing in one Test under Allister Coetzee against Wales in 2016, he was thrown to the wolves.
Rassie Erasmus, who took over from Coetzee, preferred the likes of Andre Esterhuizen and Damian de Allende in the No.12 jumper. Both Esterhuizen and De Allende have also moved abroad in the meantime, putting them on equal footing with Van Rensburg.
The general thinking was that if you have two players of the same calibre and the one is playing his rugby in South Africa, then the latter would crack the nod.
Now here is where it gets interesting. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, South Africa-based players have not yet had oval-ball action since March.
All the while, New Zealand’s manne are already in camp after finishing their domestic tournament.
Luckily for Nienaber, South Africa have a trop Bokke playing abroad where they have already started playing, meaning those stars are getting match-ready and, therefore, will have an edge over their local rivals for national team berths.
And that brings a mannetjie like Robert du Preez into the fray.
Also a one-cap wonder – incidentally also against Wales – Du Preez is indeed a wildcard.
He made his Bok debut in the one-off 2018 Test in the US in Erasmus’ first match in charge of the national team.
He had a kick charged down as Wales then scored to win the match 22-20 – kereltjie het homself as’t ware uit die span uitgeskop.
Now in terms of where he’s at in the national pecking order, you’d think he’d be behind Handre Pollard, Elton Jantjies, Damian Willemse and even Curwin Bosch.
But with the latter three not
having played rugby since March, all of a sudden the former Stormer comes into picture.
I don’t think he will play ahead of any of them, but just getting the chance to prove himself to the new boss will give some much-needed fire to the player’s career.
Now if that is the truth for players plying their trade abroad, you can only sense the frustration of those playing in South Africa.
Nienaber, meanwhile, will be on his knees praying that he doesn’t suffer any more big injuries to star players.
Having already lost RG Snyman to injury, the Bok coach is now sweating on the fitness of fellow locks Lood de Jager and Eben Etzebeth too.
Luckily for Nienaber, South African rugby is never short on stars in the second-row department.
And here again it’s a time for players that have perhaps been chucked away by the system (think one-cap wonders Jason Jenkins and Stephan Lewies) or youngsters that are yet to make their debuts (think Salmaan Moerat).
So while a lot of doors have been closed during this pandemic, it’s the time for a lot of others to open now.
Here’s to wishing doors would open for you too, just open your eyes to a whole new world of possibilities.
Good luck to you and good luck to Jacques Nienaber in assembling his Bok squad… we’re all waiting in anticipation.