Ex-Springbok gives forthright verdict on ‘special player’ with ‘limited opportunities’ at the Lions

Former Springboks centre Gcobani Bobo is backing the Lions’ handling of promising scrum-half Haashim Pead after he shone for South Africa at U20 level in 2025.

Pead was one of South Africa’s stars during their triumphant campaign at last year’s World Rugby U20 Championship in Italy as they beat arch-rivals New Zealand 23-15 in the final.

He scored six tries during the competition, which placed him in second position for the most five-pointers behind Georgia’s Mikheili Shioshvili (seven).

Apart from his try-scoring exploits, Pead also finished with four try assists and he broke France superstar Antoine Dupont’s record for running metres by a scrum-half during the tournament’s pool stages, gaining 232 metres from 15 carries.

Pead and SA U20 team-mates Bathobele Hlekani and Cheswill Jooste were subsequently called up to the senior Springboks squad in Johannesburg last year, training with the back-to-back world champions as they prepared for the 2025 Rugby Championship.

Struggling for game-time

Despite his excellent form at the 2025 World Rugby U20 Championship, Pead has not been a regular in the Lions’ matchday squads.

In fact, he was mostly omitted from the Lions’ squad since his impressive performances at last year’s prestigious age-grade tournament in Italy with Springboks scrum-half Morne van den Berg and Nico Steyn, who is also an ex-SA U20 player, usually ahead of him in the pecking order.

However, an impressive 15-minute cameo off the replacements bench, where Pead scored the match-winning try, against the Sharks in Durban earlier this month has led to him receiving more game-time from Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen and the 20-year-old made his first start for the Johannesburg-based outfit in a 20-20 draw with Perpignan in last Saturday’s Challenge Cup clash at Stade Aime Giral.

Pead caught the eye with some excellent line breaks on attack but has been relegated to the bench again for Friday’s URC clash against the Ospreys in Bridgend, with Van den Berg returning to the run-on side.

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Bobo, who made six Test appearances for the Springboks between 2003 and 2008, said he feels for Pead.

‘He’s getting limited opportunities’

“I can imagine how frustrating it must be for him,” he told SportsBoom. “He was touted as one of the players who broke Antoine Dupont’s records at the U20 World Championship, and now he’s getting limited opportunities.”

He added, however, that it’s important that perspective is also taken into consideration when analysing Pead’s situation.

“We as the public are not at training. We don’t see whether he’s meeting the requirements or the performance metrics the coaches use,” he added.

“The step up from U20 rugby to the URC is massive, especially in terms of game management and leading a team.”

Meanwhile, Van Rooyen defended his handling of Pead and said it’s a fine balancing act to give game-time to the three scrum-halves in their squad.

“We’re super excited about all our nines. Hash is a special player, the way he speeds up our game is incredible,” he explained.

“He’s had good exposure touring with us and learning the bigger picture.”

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