Embrose Papier has spoken candidly about the improvements in his game that led to his inclusion in the Springboks' second alignment camp in Cape Town last week — his first involvement in the national setup in eight years.
The Bulls scrumhalf made seven Test appearances in 2018 before falling out of Erasmus' plans, spending the intervening period watching a succession of nines — De Klerk, Reinach, Williams, Hendrikse, Jantjies and Van den Berg — occupy the Bok jerseys ahead of him. He was omitted from the first alignment camp in March but made the 40-man group for the Cape Town session.
Papier credits the recall to a fundamental shift in how he reads the game. "In the past, I used to just pass a lot and see what happens. But now I analyse teams. I try to 'steal lines'," he told Rapport. "The more experience you gain, the better decisions you make. You can scan teams and see what they are weak at."
He also points to composure as a key area of growth. "I became a lot calmer over the years and started making better decisions on the field. I was still so young at that age — I just kept working. I knew I could still do it."
The 29-year-old identifies pace as his most potent weapon and is determined to maximise it while he has it, but he frames his overall game around decision-making under pressure — knowing when to speed the ball up and when to slow it down based on how his forwards are going. Kicking has been a particular focus: "Sometimes I kick long, sometimes short — it's an aspect of my game that I want to consistently perform well in."
The form underpinning his recall has been emphatic. Papier has crossed nine times across the URC and Champions Cup this season, trailing only Evan Roos — the competition's leading try-scorer — by three. He ranks among the leading attackers in several URC statistical categories.
He was guarded on the specifics of Erasmus' feedback from the camp, saying only that "for every No. 9 there is always something you can work on."