Pressure mounting on Willie le Roux to retain Springboks fullback jersey over young stars

The pressure on incumbent fullback Willie le Roux to hold on to his Springbok jersey seems to be building every round of United Rugby Championship as the young stars of South African rugby shine.

Aphelele Fassi at the Sharks and the Stormers pair Damian Willemse and Warrick Gelant continue to make outstanding plays from the back to push their Springbok claims.

With Gelant just 26 years old, Willemse 23 and Fassi at 24, all three are much younger than the experienced Le Roux at 32.

Lions vs Connacht preview

Lions vs Connacht preview

In the Stormers 32-7 hammering of Glasgow it was Gelant who had one of the best impact performances in living memory, setting up a number of breaks that led to Stormers tries with sublime handling.

His first was from a kick return where he linked up with openside Hacjivah Dayimani, putting the openside through the gap that led to a try to Herschel Jantjies.

Only minutes later he was linking up with Dayimani again, this time on a pivot pass that led to Leolin Zas running away for his eighth try of the year.

His other touches were just as impressive, showing incredible skill to offload a ball around the back of a defender.

GLORIOUS! 😍

WARRICK GELANT!!@WarrickGelant pic.twitter.com/d3yltL0Bba

— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) April 22, 2022

An outstanding tackle denies Jantjies a try here but this sublime from Gelant 🥵 #STOvGLA pic.twitter.com/mpW5K5SSXA

— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) April 22, 2022

Not to be outdone by the play of Gelant, Sharks fullback Fassi pulled off a similar deft offload to set up a try against Leinster.

That offload from @aphelele_fassi 🔥@Vodacom #URC #SHAvLEI #NorthvsSouth #SSRugby @URCOfficial_RSA pic.twitter.com/sZYX71A1Lh

— vodacomrugby (@VodacomRugga) April 23, 2022

The fans were impressed with their performances but questioned why a player as talented as Gelant can’t get an invite to a Springbok alignment camp.

His last test for South Africa came against Canada at the pool stages of the Rugby World Cup. He was not used in 2021 when the Springboks returned to action after a year off.

Everything that Warrick Gelant has done on the field since coming on has been golden. I can't remember a better impact on a game of rugby in a long time.

— Philasande Sixaba (@psixaba) April 22, 2022

Warrick Gelant and Damian Willemse.
The Springboks will be smiling after tonight's performances.#URC #STOvGLA

— Dylan Jack (@dylmjack) April 22, 2022

How has Roos and Gelant been overlooked for the @Springboks alignment squads?? #SSRugby #URC #STOvGLA

— Shuaib (@ShuaibKriel1) April 22, 2022

And somehow with Fassie and Gallant we still want to waste precious time with Willie. Drives me mad. The time is now, let's get them in and let's build for world cup 2023..

— Muzza (@muzzaPeace) April 22, 2022

I repeat. Warrick Gelant is another TYPE of special player. That was wow #STOvGLA

— Leighton Koopman (@Leighton_K) April 22, 2022

Rassie and Nienaber knows way more than us mortals. They'll pick Willie, because they know how important he is to the Bok game plan.

— Hanrick Swart (@hanrickswart) April 22, 2022