You cannot kill a Faf de Klerk comeback. You can drop him, you can rank two younger nines above him, you can politely suggest that the international chapter is closed — and then he pops up in a Cheetahs jersey, scores two tries in a 43-21 hammering of the Sharks, and Victor Matfield is suddenly on the airwaves saying the words 'very close.' The blond menace is like glitter at a party: you thought you'd cleaned him up months ago and here he is again, stuck to the couch, in your hair, refusing to leave the building.
Two tries, one point being made very loudly
Scrumhalves aren't supposed to score two tries in a game — that's not their department, they're meant to be the cheeky delivery driver, not the striker. But De Klerk went out for the Cheetahs and bagged a brace in a 43-21 win, which in scrumhalf terms is the equivalent of writing 'PICK ME' across the sky in smoke. That's not form. That's a statement letter, hand-delivered, in studs, to the selectors' front door. Every time this man is written off he responds not with words but with a scoreboard, and the scoreboard is a hard thing to argue with over breakfast.
The Matfield seal of approval
When a lock as decorated as Victor Matfield takes time out of his day to tell the nation you're 'very close,' that's not idle chit-chat — that's a legend nudging the door open with his boot. De Klerk sits behind Grant Williams and Cobus Reinach in Rassie's current pecking order, which is a polite way of saying he's third in a queue he used to own. But 'third choice' and 'forgotten' are very different postcodes, and Matfield just reminded everyone that a double World Cup winner with fresh tries in his boots is exactly the sort of experience you want lurking when the All Blacks come to town.
So here's the ScrumAtMe verdict: never, ever bet against the little guy with the big hair and the bigger cheek. Rassie loves a squad member who terrifies opponents and never stops competing, and Faf is auditioning at full volume in Bloemfontein. The door's open, Matfield's holding it, and De Klerk's already got one boot inside. Two tries down, a nation's affection intact, and a green-and-gold jersey humming his name from across the room. Don't retire him yet. He clearly hasn't retired himself.