Former Springboks scrum-half Rudy Paige is backing Junior Boks number nine Haashim Pead to take the step up to senior international rugby “sooner rather than later”.
Pead was one of South Africa’s stars during their triumphant campaign at the recent World Rugby U20 Championship in Italy as they beat arch rivals New Zealand 23-15 in the final.
He scored six tries during the competition, which placed him in second position for the most five-pointers behind Georgia’s Mikheili Shioshvili (seven).
Apart from his try-scoring exploits, Pead also finished with four try assists and he broke France superstar Antoine Dupont’s record for running metres by a scrum-half during the tournament’s pool stages, gaining 232 metres from 15 carries.
Training with senior Springboks squad
Pead and SA U20 team-mates Bathobele Hlekani and Cheswill Jooste were subsequently called up to the senior Boks squad in Johannesburg, training with the back-to-back world champions as they prepare for the upcoming Rugby Championship.
Head coach Rassie Erasmus said earlier this week that he does not expect them to be playing for the Springboks in 2025 but Paige believes it’s only a matter of time before Pead will be in action for South Africa at senior level.
“When I met him, I really liked how he sees the game and his hunger to evolve as a player and go to bigger heights,” Paige told IOL.
“On the field, he ticks all the boxes. His fundamentals are really good and he has got the pace. But he also has the instincts and his feel for the game is superb.
“We must celebrate him and what he has achieved in his short career and what the team achieved. He has got a really bright future ahead of him.”
Paige made 13 appearances for the Springboks between 2015 and 2017 and feels being in the senior Springboks environment will work wonders for Pead’s development.
‘You learn a lot through the ears and the eyes’
“I always say you learn a lot through the ears and the eyes,” said the 35-year-old.
“He is going to learn a lot from people like Grant Williams and Cobus Reinach, what they do on a day-to-day basis, what they do post training, their habits and what type of questions they ask in team meetings.
“I think being there is going to put him and the others ahead of their peers. It’s going to be three amazing weeks for them with the Boks.
“He still has a lot to learn and needs to play in big competitions such as the United Rugby Championship to develop his game even more. But we are going to see Haashim Pead in a Springbok jersey sooner rather than later.
“He has all the capabilities to make it.”
