Quan Horn at 10 for the Boks: ‘We like the way he takes the ball to the line’
· Citizen
Massive backing from the Springbok coaching group was instrumental in Rassie Erasmus selecting Lions fullback Quan Horn as the starting No 10 for the world champions’ season opening match against the Barbarians in Gqeberha on Saturday.
It is a non-Test against the famed invitational side, which means the pressure will likely be a lot less than if it was an official Test match, but it will still be an intense situation for the one-cap Bok, who has not featured for the team since his international debut against Portugal in 2024.
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Horn has been an incredible performer for the Lions over the years, dictating play from fullback, with him often coming into the first receiver channel, so he does have the skills needed to succeed, but it will be a tough adjustment with him having not featured there for his franchise in a long time.
Taking the ball to the line
But Erasmus explained at the Boks’ team announcement on Tuesday that assistant coaches Tony Brown and Mzwandile Stick had backed Horn completely, which convinced him to give him a go.
“They have noticed how at the Lions, he sometimes takes the ball at first receiver. We have been working with Quan for three years at training camps, and we like the way he takes the ball to the line,” explained Erasmus.
“He has a strong pass and he is not afraid. He doesn’t take a step back [in defence] if someone runs at him in that channel. We are actually lucky that all of our flyhalves, Sacha (Feinberg-Mngomezulu), Manie (Libbok) and Handre (Pollard) are all good defenders.”
Bok No 10s
Erasmus also admitted that the need to protect Libbok, with Feinberg-Mngomezulu currently out injured and Pollard playing in the URC final on Friday, played a part in his going with an outside pick at flyhalf for this weekend’s match.
He highlighted big injuries from last season in less important games, like prop Ox Nche against Japan on the end-of-year-tour, that has forced the Bok management to become more selective this year.
“Manie has played a lot of rugby in Japan, and we must still see if Handre gets through the Bulls game on Friday night without injury,” said Erasmus.
“We have learned our lesson from last year when we played the Barbarians and got injuries to key players in positions where we were thin because of injuries. That put us under pressure when we started the Test season. So, we want to avoid that with Manie.”