At last Butch gets his chance
Butch James knows he has a mountain to climb, but few young sportsmen have been so determined to resurrect a career in international sport as the 22-year-old Sharks flyhalf.
He will get his big chance in the most unglamorous of surroundings on Wednesday, when he is set to take the field at some stage against the Argentine Pumas at Witbank's Johann van Riebeeck Stadium.
It will be the first of two games the Argentinians play on the whistle-stop tour, with a Test against the Springboks at the end of the week at Pam Brink Stadium, Springs.
Several KwaZulu-Natal reputations will be on the line. Mark Andrews, at the helm of the South Africa A side, will be hoping to show he still has what it takes, while the abilities of other Sharks players will be closely scrutinised. These include centre Andre Snyman who will be wanting to refurbish his image as a top-class player after being dropped for the second Test against Wales; much the same applies to Gaffie du Toit, while Shaun Sowerby will want to impress on Bok coach Rudolf Straeuli his claims for inclusion in the top echelon of loose-forwards for the future.
Straeuli now has cannily created a two-tier structure of candidates for top honours. There are the Springbok squad of 22 for the Argentina Test in Springs, and on the lower rung those who will face the Argentinians in the tour's opening match. With players like Joost van der Westhuizen and Robbie Fleck both among those in the lower tier, Straeuli has a base of 44 top players to choose from for the Tri-Nations series.
Excluded from this number because of injury are such stars as Rassie Erasmus and AJ Venter.
It's understood that Straeuli plans to give James about 30 minutes game time on Wednesday and, depending on results, perhaps bring him on in the second half when the Springboks play Samoa at Loftus on July 6.
"I've never been so excited or determined about a season," James said on Friday. He has been given the all-clear by doctors after an operation to restore the cruciate ligament on his right knee.
"It's great, 100%," he said after another extensive workout. "I didn't want to rush it and have people saying I wasn't the same player as before the injury. But I'm confident the leg is right now."
His last game was a Currie Cup match against Free State in Bloemfontein last year, after which he was banned for six weeks for tackling without using his arms. This was when he decided go ahead with the operation.
In the interim, he has had much time to reflect on the ups-and-downs of last season which saw him make a glittering international debut only for the season to end in bitter disappointment. "I'm only human. I'd love to have it back. That's why the rest of this season is so important to me."
Though young Andre Pretorius is currently the Test pivot, Straeuli is rumoured to be keen to inspan James' physical presence in his Tri-Nations squad to give the Boks an extra string to their bow in the backline.
South Africa A squad
Backs:
Neil de Kock, Gaffie du Toit, Robbie Fleck, Dean Hall, Butch James, Conrad Jantjes, Wayne Julies, Friedrich Lombard, Andre Snyman, Joost van der Westhuizen.
Forwards:
Mark Andrews, Bakkie Botha, Danie Coetzee, De la Rey du Preez, Victor Matfield, Hendrik Gerber, Wessel Roux, Hendro Scholtz, Lawrence Sephaka, Shaun Sowerby, Wayne van Heerden, Cobus Visagie.
Not considered because of injury:
Rassie Erasmus, Andre Venter, John Smit, Lukas van Biljon, Ricardo Loubscher, Trevor Halstead.
South Africa (to play Argentina):
Brent Russell
Stefan Terblanche
Marius Joubert
De Wet Barry
Breyton Paulse
Andre Pretorius
Johannes Conradie
Bobby Skinstad (capt)
Corne Krige
Jannes Labuschagne
Quinton Davids
Jannes Labuschagne
Quinton Davids
Willie Meyer
James Dalton
Daan Human.
Substitutes: Ollie le Roux, Faan Rautenbach, Hottie Louw, Joe van Niekerk, Craig Davidson, Adrian Jacobs, Werner Greeff.