Rewind and watch: Siya Masuku shows why he’s a contender for Bok No 10 jersey

Sharks flyhalf Siya Masuku is the “find” of the South African rugby season.

The Sharks No 10 has been at the heart of the turnaround by the Sharks in recent weeks. After a dismal showing in the early stages of the United Rugby Championship, John Plumtree’s team have come good at the back end of the season and even went so far as to win the European Challenge Cup at the weekend.

The Sharks beat Gloucester 36-22 in the final in London to become the first South African team to bag a major European cup title.

At the heart of the team’s run to glory has been Masuku, whose general play has helped the Sharks score a number of high-quality tries, while his excellent goal-kicking has been just as influential.

In the final against Gloucester, two kicks out of hand by Masuku resulted in tries being scored by Aphelele Fassi and Makazole Mapimpi, while he also made a key pass to set up the try scored by Phepsi Buthelezi.

On top of that the former Cheetahs man kicked five penalties and three conversions.

Watch the highlights of Masuku’s performance here:

Siya Masuku set for Bok call-up

And let’s not forget about the 27-year-old’s ice-cool kicking display in the Challenge Cup semi-final win against Clermont, also in London a few weeks ago.

On that occasion, Masuku slotted all eight kicks at goal – six penalties and two conversions – to help his side win the tight match 32-31.

The recent newcomer to Durban has taken ownership of the Sharks No 10 jersey in the space of just a few matches and now he is among the candidates to wear the Springbok flyhalf jersey in the match against Wales in London on June 22, as the Test falls outside the international window, ruling Leicester’s Handre Pollard out of the mix.

Manie Libbok of the Stormers will be available for the match, but Bok boss Rassie Erasmus may consider holding him back for the two Tests against Ireland in Pretoria and Durban in July.

Whatever Erasmus decides, it looks like it’s only a matter of time before Masuku features somewhere for the Boks. His accurate goal-kicking alone makes him someone to consider for the Test team, as we saw during the Boks’ run to World Cup glory in France last year how crucial it is to have a quality goal-kicker in the team.

Pollard didn’t miss a shot at goal at the World Cup after being called into the squad as an injury replacement, kicking 13 out of 13 (four against Tonga, two against France, three against England and four against New Zealand) and proving crucial in the one-point wins in the quarter-final, semi-final and final.