Victor Matfield has defended hooker Joseph Dweba ahead of the Springbok and SA A end-of-year tours.
Dweba was on Friday named in the SA A squad for midweek matches against Munster and the Bristol Bears.
In the absence of the injured Bongi Mbonambi, Dweba started for the Boks against the All Blacks at Ellis Park in August, ahead of Malcolm Marx, but his wayward lineout throwing saw him substituted during the first half.
The 27-year-old also disappointed in the Boks’ defeat to the Wallabies in Adelaide and was not selected for the next match in Sydney or the two Tests against Argentina.
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Deon Fourie was the Boks’ backup hooker in Sydney and Buenos Aires, before a fit-again Mbonambi returned to the bench in Durban.
On Friday, Rassie Erasmus confirmed that Deon Fourie had overtaken Dweba in the Bok hooker pecking order.
Matfield believes the criticism Dweba has received is “very harsh” and that his confidence will grow as he gets more game time with the DHL Stormers.
“If you look at the Test matches he has played in, it wasn’t always his fault,” the former Bok lock and captain told Sport24.
“There were a few incorrect calls that were made. I think his throwing isn’t all that bad, but the more he plays with the Stormers, the better he’ll get.
“He’s got good locks there where they’ll communicate well, and the confidence will grow from there. He can then grow with that at Test level.”
Photo: Twitter/@Springboks
