The Big Debate: How do you solve a problem like Willie?

DROP HIM – Ken Borland

When one thinks of South Africa’s previous World Cup triumphs, the man at the back has always been the sort of calm, consistent and reliable figure that the team can count on: Andre Joubert in 1995 and Percy Montgomery in 2007.

Not that they lacked flair, far from it.

In fact they were both dazzling attackers, but they generally made the right decisions and had excellent basics.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Willie le Roux at the moment.

He just seems a bit all over the place, his decision-making looks frenetic and unfortunately he has been prone to making the most basic of mistakes.

He also tends to get into downward spirals during games and the quarterfinal against Japan was an example of this – once he’s made a clanger, he seems shot for the rest of the game.

I would back Cheslin Kolbe, probably the Springboks’ player of the tournament thus far, to shift into the fullback position.

Despite being South Africa’s greatest attacking threat, Kolbe was rather left out of most of the action against Japan.

Playing him at fullback is a way of getting more ball into his hands, he has a solid kicking game and his defensive bravery can never be questioned.

Le Roux looks like he could cost the Springboks a knockout game at the moment; they got away with it against Japan, but the semi-final against Wales is likely to be a much tighter affair and they cannot afford those mistakes.

Ken Borland is an experienced Sports Writer at The Citizen

KEEP HIM – Heinz Schenk

There’s an admission I have to make: I’m not a Willie le Roux fan.

I find him a flaky and inconsistent player who lacks some basic core basic skills for an international-quality fullback.

His supporters point to his game-breaking abilities, but I believe he displays those moments of magic far too rarely to justify the trade-off of  him playing indifferently in-between.

However, that argument is also the reason why the Springboks need to select him against Wales.

I might not be willing to take the risk on Le Roux, but national coach Rassie Erasmus clearly doesn’t mind.

And that’s the crux of the debate – the 30-year-old’s inclusion depends on your appetite for risk.

Erasmus’ Springbok team is packed with reliable, in-form performers.

What it lacks – except for Cheslin Kolbe, Makazole Mapimpi, Herschel Jantjies and (on a good day) Faf de Klerk – is players with X-factor.

And that’s where Erasmus hedges his bets in keeping Le Roux.

Le Roux could cost South Africa Sunday’s game.

But he’s intimately familiar with this team’s systems and could – given the confidence Erasmus is trying to inject him with by continuing to trust him – deliver the moment(s) of magic that secure South Africa a spot in the final.

Within essentially 18 months, Erasmus has guided a battered, confused national team to the last four of the World Cup.

He’s earned the right to gamble with Le Roux.

Heinz Schenk is The Citizen’s Digital Sports Editor.

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