Why Harry must bring back James Dalton

James Dalton may have irritated quite a few people outside Pretoria when he waxed lyrical about his new Bulls teammates on Boots and All the other night.

An acquaintance who makes no bones of his passion for the Cats did not disappoint me when I saw him the following day: "The way Dalton speaks you would think the Bulls had won the competition. He says they have this and they have that, yet at the end of the day if he reads the newspaper he will see that the Bulls are on the bottom of the log."

But to me Dalton's Boots and All offering, and an interview he did on a Cape radio station later in the week, is a perfect example of why former Springbok coach Nick Mallett might have made a mistake by condemning Dalton prematurely to the rugby scrapheap during the 1999 season.

Joost has tried it on a few occasions these past few weeks, but Dalton is surely the only person who can suggest that the Bulls are a good side - and sound convincing as he does it.

It is this sort of infectious enthusiasm and self-belief that made Dalton such an integral member of so many winning sides before he fell foul of Mallett in the week of the 1998 test against Ireland in Dublin. Mallett believed that Dalton hid an injury in the buildup to the Lansdowne Road clash and as a punishment he was never chosen for South Africa again.

To be fair to Mallett, Dalton also seemed to fall foul of Lions coach Laurie Mains during the 1999 season. With Daton relegated to a bit role with the Cats and Lions, it would have been hard for Mallett to select him into the international team.

But if you consider how South Africa battled at hooker in his absence, Dalton's fall from grace was arguably as significant to the Bok failure to defend the World Cup as the non-selection of Gary Teichmann and injury to Henry Honiball.

Charl Marais has played some great rugby for the Stormers in the past few seasons, but has never successfully made the step-up to international level.

The pair who went to the World Cup, Chris Rossouw and Naka Drotske, were either past their best or simply not up to it. Dalton, had he been fit and available, may well have provided the buzz and aggression which was so patently lacking from much of the Bok forward effort in 2000. Indeed, several former players who were canvassed for their opinion had Dalton's name at the top of the list of players that might have made a difference when the Bok forwards were hammered by England in Bloemfontein last June.

Make no mistake, Dalton has had his off-field problems in the past two years. I do not know the details, but his name has been in the paper on several occasions for all the wrong reasons.

Dalton, in the radio interview, was suitably contrite about it. He admitted that he had made several mistakes and they had all been of his own doing. He did not blame anyone apart from himself. He believes James Dalton was James Dalton's own worst enemy.

Let it be pointed out, though, that it is a long time since we last saw Dalton being called up for a disciplinary offence on the field. Certainly when he was at his peak towards the end of his previous international career, Dalton had buried those question marks for good.

As he put it this week, he has done lots of talking to the referees in his new incarnation as a Bull. But not once has his own discipline been the topic under discussion.

I cannot help feeling that had he been better managed at the close of 1998/start of 1999, Dalton may not have gone walkabout and may have been on hand to fill a pivotal position in the Springbok team that battled through that year. It may not be coincidence that the team that lost the World Cup had weaknesses or uncertainties in the key areas considered to be the spine of the team - fullback, flyhalf/inside centre, No8 and hooker.

Even more important than that, however, is Dalton's impact on those around him. They are talking about the buzz being back in the Bulls camp. On the televised evidence of his busy performances in the four Super 12 matches he has played this season, Dalton may have a lot to do with that.

He is one of those players who stirs up those around him. When he has the ball in hand or goes into a ruck or maul, his teammates follow him in like a school of piranha homing in on their prey. Apart from aggression, he adds backbone.

The Bulls are better off for having him on board, and I fancy the Springboks will end up feeling the same way later this year.

John Smit did enough on the end of year tour to vindicate the faith of both Mallett and Harry Viljoen in his abilities to make a successful switch to hooker from prop. But there is no doubt that the reformed, new look Dalton is the next best. He has to be one of the first names pencilled in when Viljoen and the selectors choose their squad next week for the home internationals and Tri-Nations.