Pienaar taking a fly on teenage tens

The performance of 18-year-old Jean-Claude Roos in the University of Pretoria's nailbiting 29-27 win over their rivals from North West University epitomises what Day One of the FNB Varsity Cup, presented by Steinhoff International, was all about.

Francois Pienaar, one of the founders of the Varsity Cup concept and more famous as the 1995 World Cup-winning Springbok captain, said he was amazed by the maturity of the teenage brigade of 2009.

"One of the most interesting aspects for me was that six of the flyhalves on Day One [of the Varsity Cup] are still eligible to play Under-21 rugby," Pienaar said.

Pienaar was particularly impressed with the standout performance of Roos in what was for him the match of the day - when the Pretoria students, Tukkies, held on in the face of a fierce late challenge from their Potchefstroom rivals, Pukke, to grab a two-point win.

"He has a booming boot, but more important on the night was maturity... for a player who was still at school last year," Pienaar said, adding, tongue-firmly-in-cheek, that they must be feeding them "Naas Botha water" in Pretoria.

"When he was under pressure he landed that drop-goal [effectively the match-winning effort] and that showed his class," he added.

Pienaar said felt that the young flyhalf's performance must be seen in light of the fact that Tukkies saw very little of the ball, while Pukke bossed possession.

"However, every time he got the ball he gave them [Tukkies] distance and a good position. Then, when the pressure came on he slotted a 60-metre drop-goal.

"What impressed me is the way he varied his game," added Pienaar.

"He also must not forget their young scrumhalf, Ignick Windvogel, who also gave him great service."

It was not just in the Tukkies versus Pukke game where Pienaar saw real talent.

The curtain-raiser in Cape Town, a friendly between two non-Varsity Cup teams in the University of the Western Cape and Fort Hare University, showed how much raw talent there is in the Eastern Cape.

The Fort Hare lock, Itumeleng Mokae, was Pienaar's Man of the match, even though the official award went to No.8 Khaya Makinana.

"Other players [in the Fort Hare team] worth a mention are flyhalf Andisa Gqoba, scrumhalf Ntando Kebe, No.8 Khaya Makinana and flank Lumumba Currie [the team's captain]."

But the talking point of the week will be the quality of the flyhalves on display, along with the fact that most of them are still teenagers.

"They are truly diamonds in the rough," Pienaar said, asking: "Is the next superstar of South African rugby set to emerge from the 2009 Varsity Cup?"

By Jan de Koning