Recently appointed Springbok assistant coach Duane Vermeulen jokingly described Jan-Hendrik Wessels as a ‘hooker, who can play prop and lock’.
Lock, a position he played at school, is perhaps no longer a realistic option – even at 190cm and 120kg.
Saturday, against Australia in Perth, he will start as a loosehead prop.
However, hooker remains an ever-present option in his future.
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“I saw him wear the No.5 jersey on occasion,” Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus told @rugby365com, adding: “Maybe the jersey was just too small.”
The Bok coach added that the 23-year-old, listed as a hooker on his Bok profile, will continue as a utility.
“We have him in the mix here [in Australia] because we were concerned about Malcolm [Marx],” he said of the two-time World Cup-winning No.2 – who suffered a frightening tibia fracture when he was crock-rolled in the second Test loss to Ireland last month.
Erasmus said they must now start to make a call between Johan Grobbelaar (who is starting at No.2 in Perth) and André-Hugo Venter as the next in line – behind frontline hookers Bongi Mbonambi and Marx.
“That is why Bongi [Mbonambi] is resting and Grobbies [Grobbelaar] is getting a start.
“Jan-Hendrik [Wessels] is a nice swinger between loosehead and hooker for us.”
(WATCH as Rassie Erasmus explains the role of rookie prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels in the Springbok set-up….)
The Bok coach said four-cap prop Gerhard Steenekamp is a touch unfortunate to miss out on the matchday 23 in Perth, but is in good company – with other big names like Siya Kolisi, Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi, Cobus Reinach, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Damian de Allende and Willie le Roux being ‘rested’.
“We are trying to ensure that in every position there are three players of quality.
“This will be a baptism of fire for Jan-Hendrik and hopefully – along with Thomas [du Toit] and [Johan] Grobbelaar – make the cut.”
Wessels, born in Bloemfontein and schooled at Grey College, has an impressive junior pedigree – one that prompted former World Cup-winning Bok coach Jake White to compare the youngster with the legendary Os du Randt.
However, for the time being he is a ‘swinger’ for the Boks and will not specialise at loosehead prop.
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