Masuku proves his point to Bok coaches

You can forgive Rassie Erasmus for having broken out into an ironic grin when one of the players he left out of the imminent Springbok alignment camp delivered a match-winning performance in Pretoria when the Sharks upset the Bulls.

We are talking about Siya Masuku, the Sharks flyhalf who came in from the wilderness to slickly pull the strings in the Durban team’s 29-19 defeat of the Bulls.

This was a few days after the Springbok coach regarded him as surplus to the 56 players he invited to the national alignment camp that starts on March 9.

To be fair to Rassie, Masuku had not played much for the Sharks after a breakout 2024 season suddenly saw him sidelined as coach John Plumtree backed his recruit from the Lions, Jordan Hendrikse, and largely had him in tandem with his scrumhalf brother, Jaden.

It was not the first time that the humble Masuku has had to patiently wait his turn despite having proven himself.

Early in 2024, Masuku was given a shot at 10 after having spent months holding tackle bags following his move to Durban from the Cheetahs.

In his first five games for the Sharks, he was Player of the Match four times as the Sharks turned their season around and began winning Challenge Cup games that would take them to the final against Gloucester.

In one of those matches, the playoff against Clermont, Mausku nailed a late touchline conversion to win the game 32-31.

His Sharks debut had come in a second-half cameo off the bench in the derby against the Stormers in Durban in round 10 of the URC. He inspired a comeback that almost shocked the high-flying champions of that time.

Masuku started against Ulster in Round 12 of that season and was excellent off the tee to help the Sharks halt a five-game losing streak.

The Sharks’ turnaround culminated in glory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Masuku at the centre of it all.

Masuku had the world at his feet as the Sharks were crowned champions and soon after they had nailed the Currie Cup at Ellis Park.

Interestingly, in the Challenge Cup final, Jordan played at fullback, with Masuku at 10 and soon after, the Sharks extended Masuku’s contract until 2028.

With his bend-it-like-Beckham kicking style and his bravery in taking the ball to the line, Masuku was riding the crest of the wave and an invitation to a Springbok alignment camp seemed to have sealed the deal for him as a future Bok.

But things changed…

Masuku barely played thereafter as the Hendrikse brothers were entrusted as the half back combination.

This is possibly because of the way Plumtree configured his bench, which had no place for a backup flyhalf because scrumhalf Jaden is equally at home at 10.

But yet again, Masuku has come in from the wilderness to prove his worth with a magnificent performance against the Bulls.

This suggests he has wrestled the position from Jordan and the latter could well find himself at fullback for the remainder of the season.