Jordan Hendrikse makes statement of intent in battle for starting berth

Rising Lions flyhalf talent Jordan Hendrikse made a firm statement of intent last weekend when he was named man-of-the-match as he helped his side claim a comfortable 28-23 win over USA Perpignan in their Challenge Cup clash in France.

Hendrikse has been the regular starting flyhalf for the Lions over the past two seasons, but this season he has found his position under threat by usual scrumhalf Sanele Nohamba, who seems to have unseated him as the preferred flyhalf.

He started the first three Lions games of the season at pivot, in United Rugby Championship (URC) losses against the Stormers, Edinburgh and Benetton, but then played the next four off the bench.

Nohamba, who started the first three games at scrumhalf, shifted to flyhalf for their first win over the season against Scarlets in Wales, and then held the position over their loss to Ulster and big wins over Zebre and Dragons in the URC.

Good gamble

The Lions then decided to leave the entire starting 15 that thumped Dragons 49-24 at Ellis Park a week earlier in SA, gambling on a second-string side for the Challenge Cup match against Perpignan.

The gamble paid off, largely thanks to the efforts of Hendrikse, who scored 23 of the team’s 28 points through seven penalties and a conversion.

The performance will give team management a bit of a selection headache, but it is likely that Nohamba will be back at flyhalf, along with the rest of the regular starting 15, for their clash against Newcastle Falcons on Saturday.

Lions assistant coach Ricardo Loubscher was thrilled with the performance of Hendrikse and admitted that the coaches had been eager to give him and a few other players on the fringes a chance to play.

‘We know what he can do’

“It was great to see Jordan walking away from that game as the man of the match. We know what he can do,” said Loubscher.

“The big thing was just to give him the opportunity to play, to show what he can do. He controlled the game nicely. We had scoreboard pressure all the time, and he played in the right areas.

“So it was part of the initial plan to give guys like Jordie (Hendrikse), Rabz (Maxwane) and Boeboes (Andries Coetzee) an opportunity to get sharp and their fitness back.”

With the travel logistics of coming back from France and only arriving late in the week, while the starting 15 are in SA training as usual, it is unlikely that any of the players from the Perpignan win will keep their place in the starting side for the Falcons game.

But if Hendrikse can continue taking any chance he gets and putting in big performances, he could find himself back in the starting line-up sooner rather than later.