Cape Town - Pat Lambie has heaped praise on young Sharks flyhalf partner Garth April ahead of Saturday's Super Rugby clash against the Jaguares in Buenos Aires.
April has started the last three Sharks fixtures and has been hugely impressive, but with Lambie now fit coach Gary Gold now has a selection dilemma.
Lambie played just under 30 minutes of rugby in last weekend's 32-15 win over the Hurricanes in Durban and looked solid in all departments.
He is 25, just a year older than April, but in terms of experience the two playmakers are worlds apart.
Having been working closely with the squad for a number of weeks now as his shoulder rehabilitation came to an end, Lambie has been extremely impressed by April.
"Garth has been outstanding. He’s had some really strong performances," Lambie said ahead of his side's trip to Argentina.
"I think he’s developed a lot of confidence among other players in the group. Hopefully he has a bright future here at the Sharks."
Should he be picked in the starting lineup for Saturday, Lambie will also be expected to take over the captaincy from Beast Mtawarira.
"More importantly, I just wanted to be back in the side and contribute where I can," he said.
"If that’s my role then so be it … I’ll relish it and grab it with both hands."
Lambie has just two Super Rugby matches to prove his worth to Springbok coach Allister Coetzee ahead of the June Tests against Ireland.
The good news is that despite being out all season with his shoulder injury, Lambie was still able to spend a lot of time on the training field during that time.
"I was quite fortunate. My rehab went very smoothly," he said.
"There wasn’t very much that I couldn’t do besides contact. So I’ve been kicking and running and doing ball skills for six to eight weeks already."
Kick-off on Saturday is at 22:40.