OPINION: Rassie, please give Jurenzo Julius a Test run this year

Jurenzo Julius had another fantastic match for the Sharks in their local derby defeat to the Lions. Picture: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images One of the biggest attacking threats in an already star-studded and Springbok-brimming Sharks side, Jurenzo Julius deserves a crack at senior international level. We have already seen how good players become great once they get a sniff of Test rugby.

Julius’ backline teammate Ethan Hooker can attest after his stellar debut season last year saw him nominated for World Rugby’sBreakthrough Player of the Year award. “Seeing what is out there in the world and what you can become as a rugby player, it’s almost like there is no roof,” Hooker said after his nomination. One feels Julius’ inclusion in the Springbok alignment camp early last year left an impact on the2024 Junior Springbok Player of the Year.

After scoring five tries for the Sharks last season, “The Boogie Man” has grown from strength to strength, developing his defensive skills as former coach John Plumtree asked of him, while doubling down on his attacking threat atboth outside and inside centreunder JP Pietersen. Playing at 12, where he is less familiar, Julius shone in a losing cause at Ellis Park on Saturday. Where he once relied on pace to dodge defenders at outside centre, he now powered through them, occasionally showing deft hand-offs to break free.

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Two brilliant runs in the second half lifted the Sharks’ spirits in a game they were chasing almost from the outset. He crossed for a try and had another disallowed due to an earlier infringement by a teammate, leaving him a clear frontrunner for player of the match despitebeing on the losing side. If age were a deterrent to selection, one would only have to look toZachary Porthen, who last year became South Africa’s youngest prop to debut at 21.

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