Sunday, 13th May 2007 at 7:45 pm

Derick Hougaard, Mayor of Pretoria

Jake White and the national selectors might not be quite as smitten, but there’s no question of who owns Pretoria after Saturday at Loftus. 27 points from a magical boot - and a polished display all round in the number ten jersey - had ‘Leifling’ playing almost non-stop at Loftus on Saturday

Derick Hougaard has produced similar performances for the Bulls before, but never has so much ridden on one of the most surgical boots in the game; ignoring pressure from the Crusaders, and bayed on by a rabid crowd, the flyhalf guided his team into the final in Durban with as much as a swagger as we’ll ever see from a quiet, self-effacing star.

And that has sparked a chorus of dismay in Pretoria, for Hougaard’s majesty hasn’t been rewarded with a spot in the 46-man training squad that will presumably lead into the World Cup. Butch James, Andre Pretorius and Frans Steyn are White’s flyhalf options, and the argument against Hougaard will suggest all three of the other number tens offer a wider range of options, against a pivot all too often written off as one-dimensional.

The Hougaard camp will not only dispute that, however; they’ll also suggest that a World Cup in the Northern Hemisphere will require a flyhalf in exactly Hougaard’s mould, given the forward-oriented game that’s like to emerge in France. Dismantling the Crusaders as he did was a major triumph for Hougaard, but it was at Loftus, where the Bulls are nigh on unbeatable.

The real test - which will swing the argument more definitively towards one or other camp - will come in Durban on Saturday, and the match-up between Hougaard and James. Brutal game, must-win situation, masses of pressure - it’ll be quite a test for Pretoria’s favourite. Orchestrate a Bulls win, and even the selectors might be forced to take note.