CAPE TOWN - Is Marco Jansen van Vuren a scrumhalf or wing? Perhaps an outside centre? These are the questions the 24-year-old and his Blue Bulls coach Jake White are trying to answer at the moment.
It seems as if White believes wing is the answer. That is the position he has covered off the bench in recent weeks, and where he started in last Saturday’s 40-13 victory over the Free State Cheetahs at Loftus Versfeld.
Standing at around 1.88m and weighing close to 90kg, Jansen van Vuren is a big unit.
He was somewhat of a surprise selection for the SA Under-20 team at the 2015 and 2016 World U20 Championship, considering his height for a scrumhalf.
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But he offered something different to the typical scrumhalves such as Ivan van Zyl and Embrose Papier – who are now ahead of him at the Bulls.
He didn’t get sufficient game time at the Lions, but White has spoken often about having to accommodate two Springbok scrumhalves, which is part of the reason why Jansen van Vuren is being given a chance out wide.
“Wherever they want, I will ‘jol’ (play) at the moment. Playing wing against the Cheetahs, it was a whole new picture, and all the things are a bit different on the points,” the Hoërskool Transvalia product said ahead of Saturday’s Currie Cup showdown with the Sharks in Durban (7pm kick-off).
“But I have been training there for the past few months, and I have been totally out of position. I have been at 13 a bit and wing, so I am covering a few things. It was a challenge for me, but I feel I didn’t come off too badly in the end.
“If you can cover quite a few positions, it is rather difficult to get into the starting line-up – in my opinion. So, I got an opportunity at the weekend as Travis (Ismaiel) was injured, and it was nice for me.
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“Obviously I don’t know what will happen from now on going forward, but wherever I am chosen – even if it’s on the bench – I will always give my best.”
Pushed again to give his preferred position, Jansen van Vuren is understandably hesitant.
He mentions that he has played at scrumhalf for most of his career, but that he is excited about the possibilities at wing – where he also scored the winning try against Western Province at Newlands.
There may be another spot that could prove more suitable for a player of his size – fullback. David Kriel is doing an excellent job, while Kurt-Lee Arendse wore the No 15 jersey against the Cheetahs.
But White has spoken about developing different options in the back-three, and Jansen van Vuren is well equipped to operate in the last line of defence.
He has a massive left kicking boot, is a strong tackler, and has shown he has enough pace to be able to join the line on attack.
Handling the high ball would be the main challenge for him as he hasn’t played at fullback, but it is something that can be coached – and he has the height to get up into the air.