Golden Lions scrumhalf Ross Cronje has been rewarded for a great Currie Cup season with a call-up to join the Springbok squad in Cardiff.
With Jano Vermaak unavailable due to French club commitments and Rudy Paige joining Ruan Pienaar on the injured list, the team found themselves in the rather dangerous position of having only two fit scrumhalves available ahead of Saturday’s test at the Millennium Stadium. Scrumhalf and hooker are traditionally the two most specialised positions in a rugby team and coaches will thus always want to have a third option on standby, lest a player suffer injury shortly ahead of kick-off.
Cronje, who attended Michaelhouse and played his junior rugby for the Sharks, is thus unlikely to play on Saturday, but will experience the atmosphere associated with being part of the wider squad. Twin brother Guy has played test ruby for his native Zimbabwe, but Ross opted to turn down a similar offer, a move which may now appear to have been the right one for him.
“Ross impressed during a very successful Absa Currie Cup campaign for the Golden Lions and also showed good form earlier in the year in Vodacom Super Rugby,” said Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.
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Whilst i do see the necessity and its great for the Ross…i wonder how much it costs SARU to fly a guy out for a couple days and get kit for him etc just to most probably sit in the stands. or does he even get a ticket to the game or does he have to watch from the hotel?
It does seem a bit silly…but at least when Francois Hougaard stumbles over shoes during the night, Ross will be there to serve… 😮
Congrats Ross!!
@SheldonK (Comment 1) : they had no option but to fly a local guy over. They couldn’t call up anyone from a European club
Balgowan High is having quite the run of luck the the players they are churning out at present
@durbsguy (Comment 5) : you mean Balgowan Primary?
@robdylan (Comment 4) : Oh yeh i know…stupid European policies. Was just wondering for interest sake what the cost would be? I know its necessary but ya
@SheldonK (Comment 7) : I don’t see why it should bother you, though. You’re not a shareholder, it’s not your money. Let them spend what they want to spend according to their business priorities.
@robdylan (Comment 8) : Was more just to satisfy curiosity than anything
Congrats Ross and Michaelhouse.
Congrats Ross!!!! Another discarded Shark to make it well done.
@JD (Comment 11) : His call-up is more a sign of a scrumhalf drought, rather than the Sharks’ inability to recognise talent.
Congrats Ross…just wondering what did poor Sarel Pretorius do to HM? 😈
@BarendL (Comment 13) : missed 1 tackle too many. After the previous 900.
@robdylan (Comment 14) : Haha…ja, great description of the problem…
It’s a joke that Cronje got the call he is the worst scrum half I have seen in years. Typical clueless Meyer
@Saffex (Comment 16) : better than Conrad Hoffmann
@BarendL (Comment 13) : @robdylan (Comment 14) : problem with Sarel is he is either very good or piss poor nothing in between.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 12) : not saying Sharks did not see his talent, Sharks had lots of good 9’s ahead of him so he moved to get game time and he has really used his chance.
@Saffex (Comment 16) : so who in SA is better?
@JD (Comment 20) : Faf de Klerk,Nic Groom,Sarel…just my opinion of course,but I tend to agree that Ross really is one of the weaker scrummies in SA
@BarendL (Comment 21) : Ross may not be the flashiest scrummie around but has become very consistent in his game. Probably deserve to be 7th in line.
Faf – injured throughout the CC, last played during SR, and a leftie; Nic – inconsistent, and a leftie; Sarel – powder-puff pass, no defence, no kicking game
@Baylion (Comment 22) : Like I said,in my opinion….so you wouldn’t even look at a leftie in your team?
@BarendL (Comment 23) : A left footed scrummie’s kicking game comes under a lot of pressure from the opposition scrummie and he need to develop a reliable right footed kicking game. Or so I have been informed 🙂
Groom, Shraeuder, v/Zyl, Luithers, Hoffman, Paige, Sarel are all better than Ross who is useless
@Baylion (Comment 24) : 😆
And then we can add a certain Bok starter who’s kicks get more charged down than anyone I have ever seen before…but then again,we all know he’s a better wing!
@SheldonK (Comment 1) :
The air ticket would be the only additional cost. Everything else were already budgeted for the player/s he replaced.
It seems to me, that the Bok management is viewing the tour as an extended training camp. Some players are there to play matches, others to be prepared and trained, others to be evaluated and others to simply act as training squad “stand-ins”. Ross and Paige most probably falls in the latter categories.
In the NFL, every team contracts players for the practice squad only. Their purpose is purely to help with testing and refining tactics, there is no intention to play them in matches.
This debate on where Ross is or should be in the pecking order is silly.
@Saffex (Comment 25) : Once again the inane drivel you post betrays your total lack of any rugby knowledge. Perhaps when you get to big school that will improve so there is hope there.
If I was Ross I would have jumped at playing in a world cup and that would mean playing for Zimbabwe – I really cant see him coming close to the Bok world cup squad, but you never know.
A few years ago Ronnie Cook also dismissed a call up to play for Namibia in a world cup.
@steve (Comment 28) : Ah bless you let me guess your ignorance has you rating Cronje, huh?
@fyndraai (Comment 27) : Yeh good points! Fair enough