Lions set to snap up hot prospect Junior Springbok fly-half
Despite having to settle for a match-up with Argentina in the 3rd/4th place playoff at this year’s World Rugby U20 Championship, SA Rugby Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus will have been pleased with what he saw from the next generation of Springboks, not least so the performances of fly-half James Mollentze.
Alongside the likes of Phendulani Buthelezi, Rikus Pretorius, JJ van der Mescht and the scrum-half pairing of Jaden Hendrikse and Sanele Nohamba, Mollentze spearheaded a multi-faceted Junior Springbok side that, whilst having enviable physical ability, did not lack for technical skill or game understanding.
A semi-final against eventual champions France proved too much for Chean Roux’s side, but they responded well a few days later, seeing off hosts Argentina, 41-16.
The 20-year-old fly-half, who was a part of the Free State U19 side last year, has signed a two-year deal with the Lions, RugbyPass understands.
The news comes swiftly on the back of Elton Jantjies agreeing a two-year extension to his contract with the franchise, with the Rugby World Cup-bound Springbok bringing quality and continuity to the group for the 2020 Super Rugby season. Mollentze will now have an opportunity to hone his craft alongside Jantjies, providing depth initially, before potentially succeeding the veteran, should Jantjies move abroad for a bigger payday.
The Lions have lost Lionel Mapoe, Nic Groom and Ruan Combrinck in their back line among others this year and the consistency and future planning that Jantjies and Mollentze provide at such a key position is welcome news for the Johannesburg-based franchise.
A comfortable operator taking the ball to and executing on the gain-line, as well as a physical and technically refined tackler, Mollentze is still a work in progress as an overall player, but has the raw materials in place to develop and help the Lions achieve their ambitions in Super Rugby.
With the trio of Wandisile Simelane, Tyrone Green and Gianni Lombard having risen to prominence at the senior level this past season, the Lions are developing an enviable young core to their back line. If they can be retained and nurtured over the coming seasons, the franchise will be in a good place to maintain their current proficiency as an attacking force.
As for the Cheetahs, they will rue yet another talented player coming through the Free State pathway to end up playing their provincial rugby in one of the other major South African unions.
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Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
2 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments