Elton Jantjies’ RWC 2023 chances receding after a year to forget

Mzwandile Stick will coach the SA Select XV on the November Tour to Europe and Britain. (Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images)

By Craig Ray

19 Oct 2022

After a year plagued by scandal, injury and poor form, flyhalf Elton Jantjies’ Test career is at a crossroads.

After Elton Jantjies made his second Test appearance at the cavernous FNB Stadium against the All Blacks in 2012, he was asked what he’d like to achieve as a Test player in the years to come. “I will play 100 Tests for South Africa,” was his confident response.

He’s made it a little under halfway there in the ensuing decade and won some silverware along the way, which most famously includes a winner’s medal at Rugby World Cup (RWC) 2019.

But after 46 Tests, there is now serious doubt that cap number 47 will follow in the future for the 32-year-old.

Jantjies’ chances of going to RWC 2023 are diminishing daily. On Tuesday the Springbok coaching staff confirmed the troubled flyhalf would not make the November tour to Britain and Ireland.

Jantjies was embroiled in an ugly saga involving late-night disturbances and unpaid hotel bills in Mbombela in September. He was there as part of the Bok squad, but was not playing in the match against the All Blacks.

The news of these incidents only emerged a few weeks later when the Boks were in Argentina and Jantjies, along with team nutritionist Zeenat Simjee, were sent home. Simjee was alleged to have been with Jantjies in the luxury guesthouses, although she later denied the claims.

Since leaving the squad in Argentina, Jantjies hasn’t played again. And now, Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus confirmed Jantjies won’t tour with the Boks in November.

This is really a crossroads in the flyhalf’s Test career, and also an intersection for the Boks and their approach to the flyhalf position in the immediate future.

Elton Jantjies, seen here kicking against Wales at Loftus, had a poor match and was substituted after 40 minutes. (Photo by Gordon Arons/Gallo Images)

Jantjies started the first Test of the 2022 season against Wales at Loftus, and was substituted at halftime after a particularly poor 40 minutes.

That was on the back of only 30 minutes of rugby this year due to a shoulder injury. And it came after being charged with “malicious damage to property and the contravention of the Civil Aviation Act” following an incident on an Emirates Airline flight. The charges were later “provisionally dropped.

In retrospect, selecting for the Wales Test with so little game time, and a serious off-field distraction percolating in the background might not have been the best time to play him. Jantjies sat out the next four matches.

He then played 15 minutes against Australia in Adelaide. That was it. That’s been in his contribution in 2022. With the Bok hierarchy confirming he will miss the forthcoming tour for Tests against Ireland, France, Italy and England, especially considering Handre Pollard is also out through injury, it indicates how far Jantjies’ stocks have fallen.

“There was that personal reporting on him while we were on tour just before a really important Test match, and we mutually agreed with Elton that we would allow him to go back home and handle these personal matters,” Erasmus said this week.

“We didn’t know what was true and what was not true. Since that, he hasn't played any rugby, so for us to be able to select him currently ... we just haven’t seen him play.

“What we would love to do is just compare him to the other flyhalves on pure form, but unfortunately we couldn’t do that on Elton because he hasn’t played since.”

Erasmus, understandably, was not about to declare Jantjies’ Test career over to the national media, although the actions give the appearance that patience has worn thin with him. Erasmus even suggested the door might still be open, although actions reveal the opposite.

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If Damian Willemse continues to shine in the flyhalf role next month after some strong performances in the Rugby Championships and either Johan Goosen or another player such as Manie Libbok grabs their chance on that tour, Jantjies’ stocks will continue to crash.

“Elton is a Japanese player, he’s not contracted to SA Rugby, he’s not a Poni (Player of National Interest),” said Erasmus.

Head coach Rassie Erasmus. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

“If he’s not involved during a match week, then he’s free to take the weekend off in his personal capacity. We can’t be held responsible if a guy isn’t paying his water and electricity bill. What he does in his personal capacity is his business.

“He wasn’t part of the match squad [for the All Blacks that weekend], so he broke no team protocols. The only reason we’re not selecting him is because he’s not playing any rugby currently.

“We can’t compare him to fellow flyhalves for now, but a fit Elton Jantjies is four years younger than Jonny Sexton and if he plays good rugby, the door will always be open for him.”

Regarding Simjee’s return, Erasmus explained: “Zeenat is definitely joining us. I just want to reiterate that she wasn't sent home as part of a sanctioning. She came back to merely deal with personal reports that were written about her,” said Erasmus.

“The alleged incidents happened when the Springboks weren’t in [match week] camp. She went home to be closer to her family and to deal with the reports. None of those reported events happened when we were in camp.

“She wasn’t punished at all. She needed to get to her family, specifically her father and get some assistance, whether it was legal or emotional support for going through a difficult time.

“It was also a measure to give the team the best opportunity to focus for the last two weeks of the Rugby Championship campaign. That was important. There’s no ammunition not to take her on tour.”

Flyhalf audition

With Pollard [to be confirmed] and Jantjies out of the tour, Willemse will be the first choice flyhalf. Goosen is set to tour as long as he remains fit and could be in line for his first Test cap in six years while Libbok is close to the squad.

But the tour will also include a South African Select XV to play two games against Club sides Munster and Bristol, which might also allow for the inclusion of the Stormers’ Sach Mngomezulu and the Lions’ Jordan Hendrikse.

Mzwandile Stick will coach the SA Select XV on the November Tour to Europe and Britain. (Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images)

Bok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick will take charge of the SA Select XV for those two games and he was bullish about it being a chance for youngsters to shine.

“I’ve known Libbok since his junior Bok days and I know what he can do,” Stick said. “So, when it comes to seeing him now, taking the role of a leader in that Stormers team, it’s very good.

“We’ve got Gaza (Willemse) who is playing his best rugby and we’ve got guys like Gianni Lombard who is also playing good rugby.

“We’ve still got Jordan Hendrikse, who is also at the Lions... these are youngsters that we’re talking about.

“There’s also Sacha Mngomezulu, so we’re in a good position in South Africa. The more they play, the bigger the pool of players we'll have.

“Those midweek games are important because if we look back after the 2019 World Cup, they serve a purpose of helping us make up for the games we missed out on in 2020 [due to Covid],” Stick said.

“We missed out, for obvious reasons, on building depth and you would have seen that in the Welsh series, there were young players who took their chances.

“Kurt-Lee Arendse is an example of a young player who took his chance, with the same applying to Jaden Hendrikse and Canan Moodie.” DM

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