When tour games were all the vogue on Springbok trips around the world, it wasn’t unusual for the younger members of the squad to miss out on getting Test caps.
They would normally be part of the ‘dirt-trackers’ who would play midweek games against clubs, franchises or provinces, while the ‘big dogs’ would feature in the Tests on the weekends.
But with the tight modern rugby schedules, only the British and Irish Lions are really able to plan those midweek games.
So, when you are picked for a Bok tour these days, you are more than likely to get some game-time – even if it’s just for five minutes at the end of a convincing victory.
Not so for Johan Grobbelaar, though.
The unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic resulted in the Boks taking a massive 43-man group to Australia for the 2021 Rugby Championship, as there wouldn’t be enough time to fly over any injury replacements.
Due to the required quarantine period, the Boks spent six weeks Down Under in the state of Queensland.
Grobbelaar was the clear fourth-choice hooker at the time, behind the established pair of Bongi Mbonambi and Malcolm Marx, while Joseph Dweba was third in line.
The fact that Grobbelaar last played for the Bulls in late July and didn’t get any game-time for the Boks resulted in him going four months without playing a match.
He was just glad to be part of the national set-up at the time, but had to wait a few more years before finally making the breakthrough when he started against Portugal in Bloemfontein in July.
Grobbelaar got a second Bok outing as a replacement against the Wallabies in Brisbane during the Rugby Championship, but may just regard today’s showdown with Wales in Cardiff (7.40pm kick-off) as his ‘actual’ debut, considering that the Portuguese are a Tier Two side.
Mind you, the Welsh are not far off that level after 11 consecutive defeats – including a 24-19 loss to Fiji just two weeks ago at Millennium Stadium.
But as Bok coach Rassie Erasmus warned this week, the South Africans have almost never enjoyed an easy outing against the Welsh in Cardiff, and you would think that they would want to show some pride and play for under-fire coach Warren Gatland tonight.
Grobbelaar, though, has a great chance to make a real statement of intent.
His Bulls teammate Jan-Hendrik Wessels leapfrogged him in the Bok pecking order this year, and was in fact selected for the UK tour until an ankle injury ruled him out.
Wessels’ ability to play at hooker and loosehead prop makes him an attractive option for Erasmus, but his withdrawal resulted in two front-row replacements being called up in the shape of Grobbelaar and Wilco Louw.
But now it’s Grobbelaar’s chance to shine. The Boks are crying out for a proper back-up to Mbonambi and Marx – in fact, they need another hooker to challenge them for their spots in the match-23.
Dweba has fallen out of the mix after patchy displays for the Boks and Stormers in the last two seasons, while his franchise teammate André-Hugo Venter made his Test debut against Portugal and is probably No 5 in the pecking order at the moment.
Grobbelaar’s most valuable attribute is his accurate throwing into the lineout. The main part of Ruan Nortjé’s success over the last few seasons has been his lineout-jumping, and a lot of that victory has been due to his hooker’s consistency.
Marx and Mbonambi have had the odd wobble in that respect this year, although it hasn’t helped that all of Lood de Jager, Franco Mostert, RG Snyman and Jean Kleyn have been sidelined by injury in 2024.
Grobbelaar could take inspiration from his Bulls captain Nortjé’s own journey in the international arena this year, where he quickly became a mainstay of the Bok lineout before injury forced him out of the November tour.
1.89 - Most turnovers won per 80 minutes in the URC this calendar year:
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) November 1, 2024
1.89 - Thomas Young
1.80 - Jamie Ritchie
1.57 - Cameron Hanekom
1.51 - Johan Grobbelaar
1.50 - JC Pretorius
Jackals. https://t.co/bWwCf02W26
Grobbelaar is also a lively operator in general play due to his speed across the ground.
He has a high work-rate as a ball-carrier, can offload in the tackle and is a menace at the breakdown – with his finest Bulls performance that encapsulated all of those traits arguably being the 2022 United Rugby Championship semi-final against Leinster in Dublin.
If the 26-year-old Paarl Gym product can reproduce that display in Cardiff tonight, he could become a permanent fixture in the Bok side in the lead-up to the 2027 World Cup.