KEY POINTS:
Graham Henry says he's the best halfback in the world, a player of true class and quality. Former England coach Brian Ashton says he is the player who ran the game for the Springboks at last year's World Cup.
Former Blue Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer believes he is
the best No 9 that South Africa has ever produced. Certain members of the South African Parliament, worrying and fretting themselves about transformation from the top down rather than the other way round, believe he shouldn't even be in the Test team facing New Zealand this Sunday morning (NZT) in Cape Town.
Fourie du Preez would doubtless be surprised to find so many different opinions about himself; a touch bewildered to hear so many people making comment. But then, modesty has always been one of the core attributes of the South African halfback, a player whom, in my estimation, fully merits Graham Henry's praise.
The son of the former Northern Transvaal No 8 of the 1960s Fourie du Preez snr, the current halfback is a diamond of a player. The reason for that is, he excels just as much off the ball as when he has it. Many scrum halves can pass well; some can attack and run to a pretty high level too.
But du Preez, now 26, is just as good when he hasn't got the ball. He reads a game like a book, covers intelligently and seems to sense danger and where he will best serve his team in terms of position. In locations as diverse as Dunedin to Paris, Cape Town to Christchurch, Fourie du Preez has made some superb covering tackles or tidied up loose ball that otherwise would have posed extreme danger to his side.
But there are other qualities besides. Like the classy batsman who always seems to have that extra second to play his shot, du Preez appears to unearth space and time beyond the comprehension of others. Commendably, he plays with his head up; watching, looking, plotting and scheming. He isn't a halfback obsessed with the break yet he keeps a back row honest by the occasional, deadly dart off the fringes of ruck, maul or scrum.
Invariably, when he chooses to break, it is at the most propitious moment for his team. For du Preez doesn't waste ball; he isn't a flashy, erratic sort of player. Nor does he appear to get flustered. As the former South African fullback of the 1960s HO De Villiers says: "Staying calm and composed is a huge part of his game. He takes everything in his stride.
"But I really think what makes him such a great player is that he always seems to be in control of what he is doing."
Northern Hemisphere observers have long felt du Preez is a player perfectly suited to rugby north of the equator. Even in heavy conditions, in the wet and cold, he is able to mastermind a game tactically.
And still that marvellous pass that seems to spin like a top as it is flung out to his partner remains the envy of all others.
Here is a halfback who can clear the ball instantly, off either hand. No running sideways before unloading, that death sentence to a backline, no erratic service - just a fast, flat pass, delivered crisply, at speed and with great accuracy. How often do you see him fire the ball wide of his partner or send it dribbling along the ground?
The world has known some fine halfbacks in its time: Jeeps, Edwards, Laidlaw, De Villiers, Gallion, Howley, Farr-Jones, Kirk. Beyond argument, add du Preez to that esteemed gallery.
