Dear Rassie Erasmus... Unleash Weapon X | Henco van Wyk

A lot of talk has been made on the the outside centre position for the Springboks ever since Lukhanyo Am got injured. It truly showed us how blessed we are with someone of Am's ability because the springboks are a totally different team when he is not in the side. Jesse Kriel is an okay stopgap but we truly saw how much we lack a specialist 13 when Am is not playing and it shows on defence. Enter Henco van Wyk, or as I like to call him "Weapon X". He is a true specialist 13 who plays the position to perfection, he's still very young. He probably is the most talented schoolboy rugby players that South Africa has ever produced when he played for Monnas, the same school that produced Jacques Fourie, another legend outside centre. Henco has been under the radar this last year and for some strange reason, he was not given the same opportunities as other talented players in his age group such as Canan Moodie, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Jordan Hendrikse just to name a few. Despite Henco being the best player in his age group when he played with all of them and was by far the best player on the field every time he played during the u21 series or Varsity Cup. At the end of the Currie Cup and URC he managed to get a few caps for the Lions and he literally changed their defence single handedly when they went from the worst defence in the history of the Currie Cup to one of the best during the last stretch of the season where he played. He had played a full game vs the Dragon in the URC and dominated in that game as well where he had even better stats than Vincent Tshituka who won man of the match.
I honestly don't know what Henco has to do to prove he is one of the best, if the very best player of his age. The guy is a defensive genius and has the tackling technique to back up is rugby IQ. If we're only talking about defence then he is literally a carbon copy of Lukhanyo Am and does the exact same stuff he does off the ball to put his defence in the perfect position. He is the perfect player to replace Am when he eventually retires, so it would make sense to let Am mentor him.
The scary part about Henco is the fact that his attack was what made him so special at school, he had some of the most ridiculous runs you will ever see from an outside centre and had terrifying runs where he bulldozes players way bigger than him. He is just so explosive and agile that it's so easy for him to break tackles. For some reason the Lions just never uses him on attack, they simply never pass him the ball and expect him to make 14+ tackles a game, which he still does with ease.
If there ever was a time to take a gamble on a young player than that time is now, we have no clear replacement for Am and only have players who are versatile but there is no true specialist 13. That is where Henco is the perfect fit for the boks, especially at this years end of the year tour.
So Rassie, if you're watching, do the right thing and unleash Weapon X
Time Stamps:
Intro: 00:00 - 01:02
Rugby IQ: 01:02 - 05:20
Tackling Technique: 05:21 - 07:20
Breakdown Specialist: 07:21 - 09:55
Strong Runner: 09:56 - 12:25
Running Lines: 12:26 - 14:33
Passing: 14:34