Following his latest suspension, the Independent Online's Peter Bills asks whether the Boks should gamble on Butch James.
"The point must deeply trouble Springbok coach Peter de Villiers. In a single match last weekend, James emphasised his credentials for a place in the national squad but also the liability factor he would invariably represent.
"James played a key contributing role in helping the Lions to that astonishing 30-9 lead over the Sharks. But when John Plumtree’s men lit the blue touch paper of their comeback, where was James?
"At the most critical moments, idly kicking his heels in the sin bin because of another example of his indiscipline, his high tackle on Sharks flanker Keegan Daniel.
"By the time James returned, the die was cast. Without him, the Lions lost their game management skills. Even with 20 minutes left and that 21-point lead still intact, you could tell they didn’t know what to do – hunt for another try, which would have killed off the Sharks once and for all, or try to shut up shop and hang on. It was a classic “stick or twist” dilemma, which they never looked like solving in James’s absence."
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