Sharks in Bok shadows

Springbok rugby coach Harry Viljoen has some crucial decisions to make this week.

He must name a replacement for the injured Victor Matfield and also reassess his thoughts on the Cats' loose trio combination after what happened in Durban at the weekend.

The Sharks players who were omitted from the 32-man Springbok training squad, left Viljoen with a lot to reconsider.

Loose-forward Charl van Rensburg, also named man of the match, was sensational in the Sharks' Super 12 semi-final win over the Cats in Durban on Saturday.

His fellow loosie Warren Britz stood out as well and performed his role of fetcher with distinction.

They were part of the Sharks' back row, along with eighthman AJ Venter, who overshadowed the Cats' Springbok trio of Andre Vos, Andre Venter and Rassie Erasmus.

Through their exceptional play on Saturday, Van Rensburg and Britz, in particular, gave Viljoen a lot to ponder in the next few days before the training camp starts in Plettenberg Bay on Sunday.

In Britz, the South African captain at the World Cup sevens in January, Viljoen has another fetcher in the Corne Krige and Erasmus mould.

The inspirational play of the loose forwards filtered through to Craig Davidson at scrumhalf, Butch James at No 10 and centre Trevor Halstead.

"It was more about winning this match and getting into the final than it was about places in the Bok squad," Van Rensburg said.

"The pack played well but I was most impressed by the backs. They were outstanding," he said.

Van Rensburg now faces the dreadlocked George Smith of the ACT Brumbies in the Super 12 final in Canberra on Saturday.

"It's pointless trying to place an emphasis on Smith," he said of the looming battle. "He is an outstanding player, but to wrap yourself around an individual would be blinkering yourself. This is rugby, not horse racing. We need to focus on the Brumbies as a team and that is the way we will approach it," Van Rensburg said.

A replacement is expected to be named today for the injured Matfield. He tore knee ligaments against the Cats two Fridays ago and is out for six weeks.

One player who does not need to be reassessed is Sharks flyhalf James who was the mastermind behind his side's attacking play. He set up three of their five tries and showed that he does not need to step back to any other flyhalf contender.

Today convener of Springbok selectors Francois Davids applauded the young pivot's efforts and the part he played in seeing the Sharks through to the Super 12 final.

"Perhaps he wanted to show that he is worthy of being part of the Springbok set-up," said Davids, who was in the stands on Saturday.

"He is one of the next generation of Springbok flyhalves to come through and if people think we don't have the players they just need to look at the players coming through," he added.

He is right. James aside, Gaffie du Toit, relatively inexperienced at test level, is back in the picture and part of the training squad.

There are others like Jaco van der Westhuyzen, Andre Pretorius and the under-wraps Francois "Swys" Swart.

Van der Westhuyzen is over his knee injury and was a key figure in the Blue Bulls' win over Boland in the Vodacom Cup final in Pretoria on Friday.

Pretorius, South Africa's star sevens player, is another on the rise. Although he turned down the Bulls' offer to play Super 12 earlier this month, he is spoken of as a player who will be part of the World Cup 2003 squad.

Then there's Swys, who not too many people outside Potchefstroom and Pretoria have seen in action. But all will be revealed in Plettenberg Bay.

The public won't see much of Swart until the Springbok group assembles. Such is the protection around him that he will not play for the Potchefstroom University under-19 team until after the camp.

"I don't think people should be worried that we don't have experienced flyhalves," said Davids.

"Bringing the young players through is a process and we have to give them a chance otherwise they will never get the experience," he added.

James did not have a success ratio with kicks at goal on Saturday, but he is being looked at as the Springboks' No 1 goal-kicker in the upcoming tests against France (two) and Italy (one).

Western Province's Percy Montgomery, back at fullback after the experiment at flyhalf did not come off, is there to fall back on if James struggles with the place-kicking.

James' immediate focus, however, is his upcoming battle with the world's leading flyhalf, Stephen Larkham of the Brumbies.

The two go head to head on Saturday in the Super 12 final at Bruce Stadium.

The Springbok training squad will be trimmed down to 26 on June 10, the day after the training camp ends.

The match 22 for the first test against France on June 16 at Ellis Park will be named in that week.