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'Maybe I need a chest protector... it was a big old slap (from Sinckler) and it wasn't necessary at all'
Springbok scrum-half Faf de Klerk is honing his survival skills in the English Premiership in preparation for South Africa’s bid for World Cup glory in Japan, but admits being slapped in the chest by England prop Kyle Sinckler took intimidation to a new level.
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De Klerk has enjoyed an incredible run of success for club and country having been recalled by Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus in June last year.
However, it has made opponents desperate to put the 5ft 7in half-back off his game. De Klerk is finding himself buried under bodies, regularly taken marginally late by tacklers and held down. He is also generally messed about to try and negate his influence on matches for Sale in the Premiership and in the 10 Springbok Test matches he has played since returning from the international wilderness.
Sinckler’s frustration with the live-wire Sale scrum-half saw him suddenly thump de Klerk in the chest during Harlequins loss at the AJ Bell Stadium last Friday night, earning the volatile England prop a yellow card and leaving his diminutive opponent wondering if extra padding might be a good option.
“Maybe I do need a chest protector after that because it was a big old slap. It was not necessary at all and that was the point the referee was making, but it wasn’t dangerous,” said the Springbok.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv6H70ig9IJ/
Of more concern to de Klerk is the premeditated off-the-ball antics of opponents and he believes the lessons he is learning with Sale in the Premiership and in the European Challenge Cup, where they face La Rochelle in the semi-finals, will be useful when it comes to spearheading South Africa’s World Cup challenge.
De Klerk, who faces Worcester in the Premiership on Saturday, said: “It has been a bit worse and it is good experience for me to deal with guys putting me under pressure and I need to find ways to work around it.
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“Against Quins, guys were diving at my knees for no apparent reason and that does get frustrating but referees are picking up when things do get a bit crazy. I can always talk to the ref and I try to have a good relationship with them if something is really bothering me.
“What is also good is that we are getting really quick ball from our pack in the last few games and that means it is tougher to put pressure on me.”
A concern for Springbok fans will be the amount of rugby de Klerk is playing – if Sale do not reach the play-off he will still have played 28 matches since last June heading into the World Cup warm-ups.
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Sale boss Steve Diamond has been working with his most successful import to ensure he remains a massive influence and de Klerk insists the chance to play in the biggest rugby tournament in the world will counter any feelings of fatigue.
“Hopefully, after the Premiership season we can get a bit of a break. I had a bit of break after the June Tests – or was there? I had a break somewhere and it has been a long period, but I’m lucky to have people looking after me and Steve has kept the load down by giving me a week off in the season so I’m not feeling too bad.
“I will be fine for the World Cup if I’m selected because there is a decent break and I won’t be playing while some of the guys will still be involved in Super Rugby and I should be well rested. If I’m lucky enough to be picked for the World Cup then excitement will take over and it won’t matter how you feel.
“I have always tried to play this way and it has always come naturally to me on the field. You get one opportunity, so you should use it. Obviously, I also need to go 100 per cent because of my size and I have to out-run opponents rather than running over them. I just try and guide the team and get the excitement going.
Now this is a proper #throwbackthursday . Playing a warmup game for the Pumas vs Sharks?Is that a high tackle @PieterSteph ? pic.twitter.com/RWerRkmip1
— Faf de klerk (@fafdeklerk) February 21, 2019
“There is a chance of us making fourth place in the Premiership and it is definitely in our hands. Exeter, Saracens and Gloucester are too far ahead but we can still catch Harlequins if they slip up. If we don’t end up being in the play-offs then we need to be top six to get into the Champions Cup.
“We head to La Rochelle in the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup and going there will be a brand new experience. They are a massive side up front, so it will be physical. Hopefully we can run them around the park.”
Comments on RugbyPass
After their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
2 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
31 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
3 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to comments