SPRINGBOK flyhalf Handre Pollard knows his spot in the Bok No.10 jumper is under threat.
Pollard, 31, will play as first receiver when the Springboks tackle Italy at his home base Loftus on Saturday (5.10pm kickoff).
But with Manie Libbok and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu eyeing his jumper, the 31-year-old said in a press conference on Wednesday: “We are blessed with so much talent in the country, and as teammates, we try to push each other and learn from one another because it’s important for us to evolve together and essentially become better.”
With Pollard now officially back at the Bulls, he was excited to take the field at Loftus and to be back in South Africa after several seasons at the Leicester Tigers.
He added: “It’s great being back in South Africa and back with the guys in camp, and I’m really looking forward to my time here.
“I’m also looking forward to playing at Loftus. I have good memories of playing there, and although this is a new season, we are excited to run out in front of our passionate home crowd again.”
Of Saturday’s opponents, Pollard said: “This is a good Italian team, and we are certainly not underestimating them, especially with the passion and physicality they play with.
“They also have a lot of threats, and they are a side that are clearly evolving if one looks at their results in the last few years against some of the top teams, so it will be important to stop them and to front up physically.
“Over and above that, we have set high standards for ourselves, and we want to implement that at Test level.”
Neither Feinberg-Mngomezulu or Libbok have been included in the matchday squad this weekend.