Sharks saviour Siya Masuku reportedly on Rassie Erasmus’s Springboks radar following influential run of form

Sharks fly-half Siya Masuku has been handed an invitation to the next Springboks alignment camp on the back of several man of the match awards.

The reports made by Rapport suggest that Masuku is well in the mix for the fly-half spot in the Springboks opener against Wales at Twickenham in June especially considering all overseas stars and any players reaching the United Rugby Championship final will be unavailable.

Key player

Masuku has played a key role in the resurgence of the Sharks, particularly in the Challenge Cup, so much so that there is almost a direct correlation between his chance to start and the upturn in results.

His performance in the Challenge Cup semi-finals was outstanding as he kicked the Sharks into the final with a 22-point haul against Clermont at Twickenham Stoop.

Those efforts came after several other man-of-the-match performances which showcased that Masuku is not just a threat when kicking at goal as he impressed in open play as well with some stunning offloads and cross-kicks.

For the love of scrums, World Rugby stop changing the laws!

Change of guard

It will be fascinating to see how Springboks head coach Erasmus approaches the next Rugby World Cup cycle with an ageing core of players meaning he will have to source fresh talent and balance the transition between the old guard and new.

Part of that transition is the captaincy of the side which has been thrown into question this year as Erasmus declared he prefers a locally based skipper and with Siya Kolisi at Racing 92 in France his leadership role is at risk.

Erasmus is willing to still consider the inspirational star for the role if Racing 92 releases Kolisi for all the camps and Tests. The incumbent skipper, however, will not be available for the Wales Test as it falls out of the international window meaning Pieter-Steph du Toit, Eben Etzebeth or Bongi Mbonambi will likely captain South Africa.

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