One moment you can ride the crest of the wave and voor jy jou oe uitvee is jy deel van die whitewash next to a broken down sandcastle on the beach.
These things happen in the blink of an eye, just ask Aphelele Fassi.
Not too long ago, the 24-year-old was seen as the next big thing in South African rugby. I agreed that the “Weekend Special”, as he’s known, had what it takes to make it to the big leagues.
But I always thought the hype around him was too big.
Anyway, he must have done something seriously wrong to miss out on Springbok selection in recent weeks and also for their tour of Australia. In fact, as ek die ding so bekyk, sal ons hom nie gou weer in die Groen en Goud sien nie.
Let’s rewind a bit.
When Cheslin Kolbe got injured in the July internationals against Wales, it was Kurt-Lee Arendse who jumped the queue ahead of Fassi and cracked the nod, while the Sharks man was sent back to his franchise for pre-season training.
At the time, coach Jacques Nienaber said of releasing Fassi and Marcell Coetzee from his squad: “The two guys that we left out to get two injured guys [Duane Vermeulen and Frans Steyn] in.
“We wanted to look at them before we go on tour. Both those players [Fassi and Coetzee are] unfortunate.
“Off-field they served the team well, they understood their roles and responsibilities. “On-field, we have performance analysis after every game [both started in the second Test defeat to Wales] and share it with the players.
“It’s not my place to discuss performance assessment with the public. They will know exactly. In terms of rugby stuff, I am 100 percent confident that they know if there are gaps and what it is.
“For us it’s not cheers, it’s almost like a pause. If there’s another injury outside back or loosies, they just slot straight back in. These two guys who have been with us for quite some time.”
Well, Arendse then got red carded and banned in the first Test against the All Blacks and Nienaber roped in Bulls outside back Canan Moodie - not Fassi like promised.
I don’t have an issue with this and actually applaud the coach for being brave enough to make the tough calls and not being scared to bring in a teen.
Here’s the thing about Moodie, don’t hype him up too much. Don’t put pressure on the youngster like some of my media colleagues did with Fassi. Allow the process to run its course.
Making a fuss about a player not starting when the coaching staff is preparing that player for the demands at the highest level, only adds to said player’s frustration and can boil over to his hongerte and lus. Sometimes it can affect a player adversely.
Anyway, how about the two hookers and a veteran who “practised his throwing” as backup in the SPRINGBOK squad?
Big mistake here Mr Nienaber and a slap in the face of Bulls hooker Johan Grobbelaar who was, in my books, the best hooker in SA domestically last season.
Surely one of the four scrumhalf spots could have gone to a specialist hooker instead?
Nog iets, I said it when Elton Jantjies was selected to get match fit in the Green and Gold jumper and I’ll say it about Duane Vermeulen also.
Sentiment only gets you that far and Thor looked off the pace in the second Test against the All Blacks after coming back from knee surgery.
Why then leave a youngster like Evan Roos behind because you must get Vermeulen up to scratch at national level? I repeat; the national team is not the place for players to get match fit and to work on their overall fitness - it’s where elite athletes play when they are at their physical peak. If not, gaan kry jou reg at a lower lowel.
Nienaber better hope things don’t turn lelik skeef on tour in Australia - I see he’s already started talking about the Boks’ last win Down Under coming back in 2013, talking about a “tough tour”.
It was good while it was good, but I get the feeling that the knives are being sharpened for the man who is in his first head coaching job. And if he’s going to stick to the tried and tested - such as his six-two split - especially after naming four scrumhalves and two specialist hookers in the touring party - then he will be in trouble.
The Rassie Erasmus-formula, which he talks about when he mentions things like 45 games since he’s been back from Ireland and out of that “over 30 has been played with a 6-2 split” needs some adaptation, now put your own spin on it Jacques.
Good luck Down Under.
dudley.cartens@inl.co.za