Silver flyer Percy Montgomery has given young Western Province flyhalf Chris Rossouw the credit for his impressive performance against the Pumas on Sunday.

Montgomery, showing a great burst of speed, scored two tries and set up a few others in WP's 51-32 victory. He has spent some time on the sidelines, both for the Springboks and WP, and this has also seemed to bring the best out of him.

Not that Montgomery would admit to it, but watching the man who deposed him in the Bok jersey, Thinus Delport, score some electrifying tries for the Lions must have served as motivation too.

Commenting on the skills Rossouw displayed at flyhalf, Montgomery told the Cape Times: "I've always been of the opinion that a flyhalf makes a fullback. If he distributes well, he creates space out wide and that equates to running rugby."

Former Springbok centre Brendan Venter rates Rossouw highly, saying: "Rossouw's biggest strength is that he seems to have time on the ball - a rare attribute in a player. And especially valuable at flyhalf.

"He passes the ball well to both sides. I do believe that a flyhalf's most important attribute has to be decision-making and that only comes with time. Chris definitely has what it takes."

Many believe Montgomery has lacked the "super-juiced" pace he showed in 1997 and 1998, but he believes the Boks' game plan should be blamed for the fact that he hasn't made such a great impact the past few seasons. "I hardly saw the ball at the back (for the Boks) and no space was created for me."

Coach Gert Smal was also delighted with Monty's performance. "I don't want to detract from what was an excellent team effort, but our back three of Percy, Breyton and Pieter Rossouw can be devastating if you get them in space at the right times. I believe Percy is still the best fullback in South Africa."

Rugby fans are set for a mouth-watering clash at Ellis Park on Saturday, when Delport and Monty will be looking to outdo each other with their explosive running.