Still searching for the perfect 10

It’s time it was said. Butch James was the unsung hero whose contribution played the crucial role in South Africa’s march to World Cup glory in France last year.

Of course there were magnificent roles played by John Smit, Percy Montgomery, Victor Matfield, Bryan Habana, Juan Smith, Schalk Burger, Fourie du Preez, Os du Randt, Bakkies Botha, Danie Rossouw and Jaque Fourie (note how many put their names to the overall effort) while Francois Steyn slotted in superbly at inside centre, CJ van der Linde took over tighthead and JP Pietersen made that tackle against Fiji in the quarterfinal in Marseille.

But to me the man who made all the difference was flyhalf James.

Remember how worried we were about the position of flyhalf during the build-up to the tournament? How we were not convinced when Jake White finally plumped for James?

Well in the tournament Andrew David James did not put a foot wrong.

He did not commit a single penalty-attracting tackle and he played the agreed game plan to perfection – especially in the Final when the decision was to shut up shop, keep Jonny Wilkinson out of range and grind out the win.

This belated praise for Butch James has been prompted by the tumult over the omission from the Springbok squad of Francois Steyn and Ruan Pienaar, bringing about an uneasy reminder that flyhalf remains a key problem in the national set-up.

There may be good reasons for sending the pair of youngsters back to the Sharks but as ever with SA Rugby these have not been properly communicated; a situation exacerbated by Peter de Villiers’ annoying or amusing (depending how it affects you) bent for obfuscation.

If indeed Messrs De Villiers, Muir, Gold plus selectors Jooste and McIntosh do have a plan for the precociously talented pair we do not know what it is.

And the upshot has been justifiable criticism in the media that the Boks have been left with a single specialist flyhalf (James) ahead of the return matches in the Tri-Nations in which Victor Matfield’s men will be well-placed to push for South Africa’s third title.

It appears the men in charge want Pienaar to play flyhalf, but given the player’s admission (in the Sunday Times), over the very weekend in which he was left out of the squad, that he prefers to play scrumhalf it seems he is in the dark as to role De Villiers and Co. have in mind for him.

Certainly, if Pienaar is seen as the man to understudy James then an outing at flyhalf for the Sharks would make good sense, but it remains worrying that the player himself appears to be so negative about the switch an indication that he has not been taken into the coach’s confidence and his new role spelt out for him (as Australia’s Rod Macqueen did, when faced with a similar dilemma, with Stephen Larkham).

Similarly Francois Steyn. There is no doubt in my mind that Steyn’s future lies at fullback, where all his skills can be brought to bear rather than in the restricted zones of flyhalf, and that he should start playing in the No15 jersey as soon and as often as is possible.

It is a blessing to have Percy Montgomery in the squad and the ideal opportunity exists for Steyn to be eased into the position while the man likely to be the Boks’ first centurion is still there to provide encouragement and tuition.

It has to be said that the way Pienaar and Steyn were despatched from the squad, making it look as though they were axed, was disgraceful. Hardly the way to encourage and motivate a pair of youngsters the rest of the world, to slip into South African phraseology, would kill for.

That flyhalf is a problem is unarguable. James has been off-form so far this season and there is the worry about his longevity given the injury problems he has had to contend with.

James turned 29 in July and it is a moot point whether he will still be around for our World Cup defence in 2011.

Thus it is clear the Boks need an understudy (or two) and if one of them is to be Ruan Pienaar – not a bad idea given the amount of first-class scrumhalves currently operating in the country – he needs to be assured of the sincerity of the coach in asking him to make the switch.

Jake White faced the same problem in his four-year tenure which was only solved when James, not everyone’s choice, stood up to be counted at the World Cup.

White started out by giving the No10 jersey to Jaco van der Westhuyzen (whose best position was thought to be fullback) and gave him more caps than any other pivot in the 54 tests he was in charge.

In all White capped only five flyhalves. Andre Pretorius might have displaced Van der Westhuyzen permanently but for his tendency to get hurt, Meyer Bosman had a brief look-in late in 2005, James came into the frame in 2006 and Derick Hougaard was given a chance in three tests ahead of the World Cup in 2007.

Interestingly, at the behest of Eddie Jones (who saw much of Larkham in him) Pienaar was given a run-out at flyhalf in the RWC warm-up game against Connacht because White was concerned about the lack of depth in rugby’s key position.

At present Morné Steyn (Blue Bulls) and Earl Rose (Lions) are the form flyhalves in the Currie Cup and it may be time to draw them into the Springbok ambit – if not as squad members then at least to familiarise them with the team’s structures and methods.

In fact, if it were down to me, I would be asking Naas Botha to take the young pivots under his wing, not for an afternoon but in an extended and properly structured programme, to teach them the art of flyhalf play.

And don’t get me started on what we should be doing about the dearth of tighthead props…