Stormers scrumhalf, Herschel Jantjies is in line to make his Springbok debut against Australia later this month.
After a superb season with the Stormers, the down-to-earth 23-year-old impressed coach Rassie Erasmus so much that he cracked the nod in his squad ahead of Embrose Papier and Ivan van Zyl.
With the World Cup in Japan around the corner, Jantjies now has to prove that he can make the step up to international rugby.
And Erasmus won’t hold him back, hinting that he will unleash Jantjies in their first match against the Wallabies.
The coach explains: “We’ve got more than enough time [before the start of the World Cup to get the squad ready].
“It’s a question of whether the patience will be there.
“We will announce the squad [for Australia] internally on Monday, the players know already 90 percent what the team will look like.
“The patience is all about knowing it won’t be free-flowing because it will be totally new combinations in that game.
“Herschell [Jantjies] is new, Frans [Steyn ] is new to the system, there will be a few new faces.
“Rynhardt [Elstadt] is new, Marcell [Coetzee] is new and there will be some hiccups in terms of getting the flow in the game right.
CONFIDENCE: Rassie Erasmus. Photo: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix.
“And Australia have their backs against the wall after not having one of the greatest seasons [in Super Rugby] - the same as us in a way - and then the end-of-year tour wasn’t too great for them.
“They’ve got some staff changes, coaching changes they will want to get off to a good start and probably play their best team.
Week #2, Springbok training camp
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“We will go there with a mix of a team, so we will want to pick up momentum there.
“It’s just a matter of patience when it doesn’t go our way.”
NEW FACE: Rynhardt Elstadt. Photo: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix.
While Erasmus will mix and match his team when they meet the Wallabies at Ellis Park on July 20, he is still looking to get the win and won’t just use the match as a practice exercise for the World Cup.
He adds: “We desperately want to win the Rugby Championship, we haven’t won that tournament in 10 years.
“We want to win the World Cup, so that pressure we are putting on ourselves.
“We’re working really hard to do that.”