The Bulls have been searching for a proper solution at flyhalf ever since Handré Pollard left Pretoria in 2019, and now the next contender has been identified to secure the No 10 jersey: Keagan Johannes.
It hasn’t worked out for the likes of Manie Libbok, Chris Smith and others in the pivot position at Loftus Versfeld, while Johan Goosen has been hamstrung by several injuries.
Bulls director of rugby Jake White has tried Boeta Chamberlain, Jaco van der Walt and Chris Barend Smit at flyhalf, with varying degrees of success.
But he’s had to turn to veteran Springbok fullback Willie le Roux in recent weeks following Goosen’s latest knee injury.
Le Roux produced a much more assured performance in Saturday’s 31-19 victory over the Lions at Loftus Versfeld, where he ran the show in a measured fashion as the Bulls dotted down five tries.
But Le Roux may not be a long-term solution, and there needs to be an alternative option anyway – and that is set to come in the shape of Johannes.
While he has played most of his senior rugby at scrumhalf, the 25-year-old from Mamre near the Cape West Coast actually starred at flyhalf for Garsfontein High School in Pretoria.
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Johannes was given a rare opportunity in the Bulls match-23 against the Lions, and replaced Le Roux at flyhalf in the 67th minute.
He showed his natural ability with a couple of pinpoint passes and kicks into touch, although he missed the mark with a penalty at the posts from the Lions 10m line, and had a penalty to touch just knocked back into play by the Lions.
But overall, it was an impressive late cameo from Johannes, and he will hope to get another shot as the pivot in next Saturday’s URC clash against the Stormers at Loftus Versfeld (5pm kick-off).
Johannes was a last-minute emergency selection in the No 10 jersey against Benetton in Italy last October, where he had three-hour notice that he was starting after an “overnight illness” ruled out Chamberlain and a few other players.
Johannes had a good outing on a difficult, wet night in Treviso, where David Kriel kicked a late conversion to secure a 17-15 win.
“He is a very good rugby player, and it’s one of those things... Because he is so versatile, he is going to be very important for us going forward as well,” White said about Johannes in the post-match press conference.
“He was always a 10 at school anyway – that’s the ironic thing. Then he sort of moved to nine, and I was thinking about it this week.
“I have coached a lot all over the world, and you get guys like Michalak, who plays nine and 10. Morgan Parra, (Jean-Baptiste) Elissalde played nine and 10 for France. It’s very normal in France – look at Antoine Dupont, who goes from nine to 10.
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“I think sometimes there’s a reason for it, because there is an understanding about when you’re a good nine, what 10s want, and when you’re a good 10, there’s a greater understanding of what nines need to give you.
“So, I’m fully aware of the fact that he’s got rugby in him. Doc Craven would say that he’s a footballer – and he is: he’s a footballer. I just wish he would kick the ball out directly when we get a penalty!”
When asked if Johannes could fill the Bulls gap at flyhalf, White responded: “He could, he could. And the nice thing is that he could go onto a six-two bench, like the other guys, because he can play nine and 10.
“Those are things you see that worked in world rugby for many teams. It is a massive bonus to have for us.
“The thing that I really enjoyed is that he hasn’t played for a while, and he came in at 10 – because he has been training like that.
“That’s why he got the nod. He’s been playing in the team that’s been going against us, and they’ve been looking like they’re sharper than the team I’m putting on the field.
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“If I look at today’s game, the Lions can attack, and have got an unbelievable attack. Their attack, from broken play and turnovers... The one thing where they are as good as any team is that when you turn over the ball and they transition from defence to attack, outstanding.
“And I think that’s what he did against us. If we were defending against the other group, every time we lost the ball, it was show-time for him. It probably helped us in our prep for this weekend.”