How blessed are we as sports fans?
With Super Rugby clearly having lost its flavour and the high of the Fifa World Cup faded away, there wasn’t much to talk about in the last while.
Then the Premier League kicked off this weekend and life became semi-normal once again.
There was one thing missing, though, big rugby.
The Paarl high-school derby between Klein Nederburg and New Orleans was entertaining and served up some intense moments.
But rugby fans need more. And this coming weekend they will get it when the Springboks, the Pumas, the All Blacks and the Wallabies kick off the Rugby Championship campaign.
There is renewed optimism in South African rugby circles after coach Rassie Erasmus’ debut against Wales and England earlier this year.
While the Springboks didn’t exactly blow their European counterparts off the park, it was Erasmus’ squad selection that had fans excited about the team’s future.
It’s now just a little over a year to go before the World Cup kicks off.
And there are a couple of positions that are cause for concern in the Bok camp.
The obvious one is fullback, where Willie le Roux is the only seasoned specialist in this position.
The other is at scrumhalf, where Faf de Klerk is the only world-class No.9 in the squad at the moment.
What makes this even more of a worry is that both players are rumoured to be returning to their English clubs during the Championship.
And that will leave South Africa with two massive holes to fill.
Erasmus has already said that he will use Damian Willemse at the back of the line at some point during this campaign.
I believe his introduction should come as soon as this weekend already - when they face Argentina’s Pumas in Durban.
It just doesn’t get easier for the national team to blood players after that.
Willemse can be the find of the tournament in this position and I believe a good showing at fullback will see his name pencilled in as one of the players who will travel to Japan in search of the William Webb Ellis trophy next year.
At scrumhalf, it’s not as simple really.
If De Klerk leaves, neither Ivan van Zyl nor Embrose Papier are ready to take ownership of that position.
In Van Zyl, Erasmus has a No.9 that proved in the match against Wales that he doesn’t mind taking the pressure off his flyhalf with box kicks.
Now if executed properly, this can be a deadly weapon.
The problem for Van Zyl is that he is nowhere near perfecting that part of his game just yet.
Two bad kicks against the All Blacks in a World Cup final and we all know where the trophy will end up.
Then you have Papier - one of the fastest players in the Bok squad. He is a player that can provide that spark off the bench. But he shouldn’t be limited to that role.
And I believe the problem with these two No.9s - clearly seen by Erasmus as the future of Bok rugby - starts at their franchise the Bulls.
This is where I think the South African Rugby Union should spread their player resources more evenly.
It would be wise for a player such as Papier to play, and start, at the Stormers.
He will fit the team like a glove and that will allow Van Zyl more game time at the Bulls as well.
Either way, the clock is ticking on Erasmus and his coaching staff to get these players ready for the World Cup.
For that reason we might see them both in the matchday squad if De Klerk is indeed returning to England.
If not, it will have to be Ross Cronje.