Former Bok backs Jan-Hendrik Wessles to make hooker position his own

Head coach Rassie Erasmus has put a lot of faith in versatility throughout his tenure in charge of the Springboks, with former Boks boss Jacques Nienaber doing the same.

Andre Esterhuizen and Deon Fourie have been the best examples of that, but several players have multiple positions, including the likes of Pieter-Steph du Toit, Cheslin Kolbe, Damian Willemse, Canan Moodie and Grant Williams.

Wessels has done so too, playing mainly as a loosehead prop but has also featured at hooker, which has been a problem position for South Africa. Malcolm Marx and Bongi Mbonambi have dominated the hooking positions for the Boks over the years, but the latter has since fallen out of favour.

In Mbonambi's absence, none of Andre-Hugo Venter, Marnus van Merwe and Johan Grobbelaar have established themselves as Marx's deputy, which resulted in a recall for Fourie during Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series against the All Blacks.

With Fourie sustaining an injury before the Nations Championship squad announcement, Grobbelaar looked primed to spend November as Marx's back-up, but the Bulls hooker was overlooked entirely, with Erasmus explaining that his absence from the squad was to force the coaching team into playing Wessels at hooker.

Wessels and Marx were the hookers listed in the squad announcement, with Marco van Staden providing cover in the role. Speaking to News24, Kempson, who played 37 times for the Boks, said that the decision to let Wessels focus on one position this month will benefit him and the team going forward.

"Being a hybrid in two positions does help, but specialising in this tour would benefit him more," Kempson said.

"This is an opportunity to grow, one that will provide further opportunity to add to his experience at the higher level.

"Ultimately, the good faith around the selection would definitely benefit his growth in confidence. It's an affirmation of the hard work put into his abilities."

The 25-year-old front-rower has the attributes to succeed as a hooker, according to Kempson, who pointed to his athleticism and technical accuracy at the breakdown as his main strengths.

"He's an honest, strong player that is technically proficient. He makes very few errors, a grafter in the tight exchanges.

"Intelligent at the breakdown, and with that low error rate, you can add very few indiscretions - so very limited penalty count."

Wessels' first opportunity in the hooker position comes against Italy in Turin this weekend as he has been named as the reserve hooker for the clash and is joined on the bench by powerhouse props Gerhard Steenekamp and Wilco Louw.

READ MORE: Morné van den Berg embraces Springbok challenge on European tour