Shimange to finally get more game time
National interest, he agrees, has to take priority but sometimes the player's well being has to be given careful consideration.
Cheetahs coach Peet Kleynhans will be without his South African A team players - Juan Smith, Eddie Fredericks, Anton Pitout and Wayne Julies for Saturday's match against an Argentinian XV in Bloemfontein - but the coach has made a compelling case for Hanyani Shimange's inclusion.
"I insisted that he be allowed to play for us," Kleynhans revealed on Thursday. "He is desperately short of game time and I feel he needs to feature in this game. When was the last time he played 60 minutes? In April? This guy has hardly played five games in the Super 12.
"They mention his name all the time in a Springbok context but the guy hasn't played enough. To be recognised for playing well you actually have to play," Kleynhans insisted.
Shimange who shared the hooker's berth at the Cats with Delarey du Preez, was supposed to report for A team duty in Pretoria on Friday but Kleynhans's plea found a sympathetic ear.
"I spoke to Rudolf (Straeuli) last week and asked for Hanyani to be made available for this game. Fact is, he is not in the best shape and he admitted as much.
"Hanyani said it was going to be difficult to play against these Argentinians. When he came back from the Cats he wasn't nearly where he is supposed to be fitness wise.
"When he arrived at the Cheetahs from the Sharks last year he was overweight and unfit and our biokineticist worked with him for a few weeks and he lost 11 kilograms. We need him to return to that kind of fitness.
"Hanyani is a different breed of player. He needs to play all the time," Kleynhans said.
Shimange is not the only Cheetah to have seen little action over the last couple of weeks. Since their Vodacom Cup exit at the hands of the Lions in the semifinals, the Cheetahs have seen little if no game time but Saturday's match will be welcome exercise.
"The guys have been doing a lot of work on their own because they were issued fitness programmes. You can only measure yourself in a match however," the coach said.
The Cheetahs will be without the injured Os du Randt but they will welcome back props Gurthro Steenkamp and CJ van der Linde who both missed the Super 12.
About tomorrow's opposition little is known. The Pumas' Test team will play France in the second Test of their series in Buenos Aires tomorrow before meeting the Springboks in Port Elizabeth next Saturday.
Cheetahs:
Jaco van Schalkwyk; McNeil Hendricks, Frederich Lombard, Chris Kruger, Showan Smith; Kennedy Tsimba, Jimmy Powell; Rassie Erasmus (captain), Nico Breedt, Ryno van der Merwe; Gerrie Britz, Boela du Plooy; CJ van der Linde, Andre Langley, Gurthro Steenkamp. Substitutes: Hanyani Shimange, Marius Mostert, Rayno Gerber, Marco Wentzel, Gromingo Mzunga, JP du Toit, Tsepo Kokoali. Coach: Peet Kleynhans
Argentina XV:
not available