"Have you never thought about motivational speaking?" 2007 South Africa Rugby World Cup winning captain John Smit sarcastically asked Nick Mallett after the Springboks' victory over Romania on Sunday.
"I have and I'm very good at it," replied Mallett.
"I'm also a realist. There's a big difference between being positive but also naively so."
The former South Africa and Italy head coach had just explained why he's not as positive about the Springboks' options at hooker as Smit and fellow SuperSport analyst Victor Matfield.
After first choice hooker Malcolm Marx was ruled out of the tournament due to a knee injury, South Africa chose to call up out-half Handre Pollard.
It leaves Bongi Mbonambi as their first choice hooker with loose forwards Dean Fourie and Marco van Staden as the other lineout throwing options. Both Fourie and Van Staden had lineout throws during Sunday's 76-0 win over Romania.
5 November 2022; Dan Sheehan of Ireland is tackled by Malcolm Marx of South Africa during the Bank of Ireland Nations Series match between Ireland and South Africa at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
"I tend to look at it glass half empty in this situation because it's Romania, and they're not the greatest team," said Mallett.
"By the time those guys started to move into the hooker position, [Romania] has basically given up the lineouts and weren't contesting. We took a lot at two ball as well.
"There's a massive difference between throwing in against a defeated Romania team and a motivated Ireland team under pressure in the last 20 or 30 minutes of a game These guys did well but it's not great opposition.
"I will say this: Rassie likes picking players who have heart and are warriors. There's no doubt that Deon is a warrior and so is Marco van Staden. What you get in terms of outside the hooking speciality of scrummaging and lineout throwing... you are getting a fantastic return from Marco and Deon.
"My big question mark is if anything happens to Bongi in a game... Listen, Ireland is like a final. They're number one in the world are we are number two.
"If Bongi goes down early and we've got a guy playing at hooker who hasn't played there for four of five years, you can practise as much as you want and throw against Romania as much as you want, Ireland have got a very, very good contesting lineout and it could be tricky."
5 November 2022; Deon Fourie of South Africa is tackled by Jonathan Sexton, left, and Robert Baloucoune of Ireland during the Bank of Ireland Nations Series match between Ireland and South Africa at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Smit, who played hooker for South Africa, said it's "an incredibly important position".
"If you think about where Bongi and Malcolm have combined," he added.
"They've had that 30-minute gap to come on and be part of the Bomb Squad.
"It's a harder job, that last 30, because your accuracy has to be spot on because the pressure is normally on there. You've got to increase the energy of the game as well.
"Deon Fourie is a guy who has played a lot at hooker. He carries well. His throwing [against Romania] was impeccable. He played hooker, predominantly for the Stormers, where he was outstanding as a hooker.
"His turnovers are I think what are going to give him an edge on the bench when it comes to the Bomb Squad. With Bongi, he's not out-and-out on the ball like Malcolm is, but now we've got Deon who is aggressive on the ball."
Rugby World Cup: South Africa Happy To Take A 'Calculated Risk' Vs Ireland
