Publications
Partners
Cape Town - The performance of flyhalf Tian Schoeman will be key for the Blue Bulls in Saturday's Currie Cup final against the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, former Springbok pivot Naas Botha believes.
Schoeman converted all eight of his kicks at goal as the Bulls beat Western Province 36-30 in last weekend’s semi-final in Pretoria to qualify for the final.
However, the Bulls pivot made two glaring errors that almost cost his side.
A wild pass from Schoeman was intercepted which led to a try for WP wing Werner Kok, before the Cape side scored another try after Schoeman was unable to control a kick-off.
The errors cost his side 14 points but Botha believes Schoeman deserves another chance this weekend.
“I don’t think there can be too much criticism against him. I didn’t expect him to make those two errors, but it would be unreasonable to make a judgment solely on that,” Botha told Netwerk24.
According to Botha, the performance of a flyhalf decides the outcome in a final “nine out of 10 times”.
“Sometimes in a final you only get one chance. And it could easily be your last one (final). There is always additional pressure and Tian will have to handle it better," continued Botha.
Saturday’s Currie Cup final is scheduled for 16:00.
