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The latest South African to throw his lot in with Scotland
Edinburgh’s South Africa-born prop Boan Venter has revealed his dream is to follow in the footsteps of clubmates WP Nel, Pierre Schoeman and Duhan van der Merwe and play international rugby for Scotland.
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The 26-year-old arrived in the Scottish capital in February 2021 and has now penned a two-year contract extension that will take him to the end of the 2025/26 season.
From Kimberley in South Africa’s Northern Cape, the former Cheetahs loosehead will have to wait until February 2026 to qualify for his adopted country via the residency rule, which was extended from three to five years at the end of 2020.
Venter, who was involved in training camps with the Junior Springboks but missed out on playing at an U20s World Cup, is happy to bide his time to fulfil his ambition of playing Test rugby.
“It’s five years to be qualified, so I’m definitely looking forward to that,” he said. “I won’t lie. From being a young boy, it has been my dream to play international rugby and maybe go to a World Cup. But for now, my focus will be to improve on my own game.
We're delighted to announce a new two-year deal for Boan Venter, keeping the loosehead prop in the capital until June 2026! ?
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— Edinburgh Rugby (@EdinburghRugby) December 6, 2023
“For me, if you look too far forward, you stub your toe where you are at. The dream is there, but I’d like to improve week in, week out and then let the future sort itself out.”
Edinburgh senior coach Sean Everitt, who revealed he tried to sign Venter from Cheetahs when he was still head coach at the Sharks, believes the loosehead has the quality to follow Schoeman into the Scotland ranks if he can remain clear of serious injury over the next two years.
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“I tried to get him ‘down the hill’ to Durban from Bloemfontein, but unfortunately he had already committed to Edinburgh,” Everitt said. “It’s great to be able to work with him.
“He had a cracking season in South Africa that year and he has been really good for us. He can be good for Scottish rugby going forward, as his new contract will take him into consideration for the national team.
“He has got to keep learning but he works hard, is a popular guy in the group and is a devastating scrummager. He is getting better week in, week out. He is a good ball carrier as well, has good ball skills so he can be an all-round player and certainly one who can succeed a guy like Pierre Schoeman, who has done so well for Scotland.
“I am happy for him. It is always good to have quality players like that signing long-term with the club. We are serious about doing well and we are serious about winning. Keeping guys like Boan makes that job easier for us because he is quite serious about his rugby career and where he wants to be.”
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Venter, who has featured in six of Edinburgh’s seven URC games this season, will be approaching his 29th birthday by the time he becomes eligible for Scotland, but the example of two clubmates suggests that is no barrier to his international ambitions.
The 37-year-old tighthead Nel was 29 when he made his Scotland debut after three years with Edinburgh and he won his 61st cap at the recent Rugby World Cup. Schoeman, who also served a three-year residency period, made his Scotland bow aged 27 in 2021 and has won 26 caps in the past two years.
“WP still going at 37… if that’s not inspirational, I don’t know what will be,” said Venter. “He is a really close mate of mine as well. I enjoy rubbing shoulders with him every day. We are such a close-knit group of props. We push each other, we learn from each other. I feel I get ample opportunity to prove my worth here.
“I have really enjoyed living in Edinburgh and it’s my third season now. The missus has been over for a year now as well so that definitely makes it a bit easier. We used to do long distance for two years but we have settled in really nicely and are looking forward to the capital still being our home for the next two years.”
With Schoeman among several Scotland players set to be rested for Edinburgh’s opening European Challenge Cup pool match at Clermont on Friday, Venter is poised for another chance to prove his credentials at the Stade Marcel-Michelin.
Last Saturday’s impressive 27-24 victory over Ulster in Belfast lifted the capital side to fifth place in the URC, continuing the positive trajectory under Everitt since he succeeded former head coach Mike Blair for the 2023/24 season.
“I’m enjoying where we are at the moment and what Sean has brought in,” added Venter, who has scored nine tries in 52 outings for Edinburgh, including a hat-trick against Ospreys in January 2022. “He has slotted in seamlessly and I am enjoying working with him.
“With him being a Saffa as well, there is a lot of common ground. It is just knowing the sacrifice that it is for us to be here, leaving behind all our family and friends back in South Africa.
“But then again, coming here and knowing what it is to make Scotland your home now and being committed to the cause here. The boys have bought in nicely to what he brings to the table and we have hit the ground running. It’s been going well so far.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Let’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
4 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
4 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
4 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
4 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
4 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to comments