Joubert's change of heart was largely due to an injury free run. On Saturday at Ellis Park, Joubert wore a knee brace and at the post match function handed out the ties and plaques in the absence of Gary Teichmann, having been elected to the ceremonial role as - in his own words - "The senior pro".

He even spoke eloquently in English after softening up the audience by warning them, "My English is extremely delicious". It was all calculated to make us believe that he has reached the stage of his career when the idea of lowering his golf handicap beats the hell out of the idea of tackling Joeli Vidiri. But if that is what he would like us to believe, his play against the Cats spoke otherwise.

Ellis Park has always been a happy ground for Joubert; the ball flies off his boot there as if he has secreted gunpowder in his toe-cap. He ran the game with his kicking, driving the Cats into the corners with merciless precision and setting up Stephen Brink's try with a touch which suggested he should have been wearing a surgeon's robe rather than a Shark jersey.

Mallett has said publicly that Joubert's defence is no longer up to the rigours of international rugby. There are several things to say about that. If Mallett is speaking of a relish for tackling, then he is probably right, for Joubert in his mid 20's was never a fan of getting hurt for no good reason, and now he is in his mid 30's he has even more reason for his discretion.

But there is more to fullback play than laying down your life against unstoppable odds. What Joubert showed on Saturday was that his positional sense has reached the stage where he seems to have a hot-line to Scotty in the starship Enterprise. He was under every ball the Cats kicked deep, not running, but waiting for it to come down. And because he was always in the right place with time to spare he was able to punish the Cats for kicking away possession.

The obvious question is this; is Joubert good enough to play in the World Cup? The obvious answer is this; he is so much better than the next best South African fullback that failing to at least give him a chance to stake his claim against Italy and in the Tri-Nations would be tantamount to treason.

Six months ago the weight of public opinion would not have swayed Nick Mallett, who is confident in his own judgement and quite possibly the best Springbok coach ever. But after the under-performance of his side in Britain, Mallett has shown signs of being able to change his mind, one of the prerequisites for anyone who wishes to remain successful in any profession.

He has spoken already of replacing his front row greyhounds with a more muscular scrumming unit and of developing the role of his locks beyond the task of catching the ball in the lineout. Now is the time to reconsider the role of the fullback and, fitness permitting, to recall the man who is an ornament to the game and, at the age of 34 and 11 months, still a match-winner.