Ken Borland

Elton Jantjies gets a welcome opportunity in the No.10 jersey for the Springboks against Argentina at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday and the 31-year-old sees himself as not only an experienced head in the team but also a facilitator for those around him.

Jantjies will be the Springboks’ starting flyhalf for the first time since the World Cup match against Canada in October 2019 but, largely due to the pivotal role he played in the rise of the Lions franchise, he has been one of the leaders in the squad for a couple of years. After the trench warfare of the series against the British and Irish Lions, Jantjies also has the vision and skills to unlock the attacking capabilities of the Springboks if the match against Argentina does open up a bit.

“For me, it’s all about the team, especially at this stage of my career. When you are younger you have more of an individual focus, but when you are older, more experienced, your efforts are focused more towards the team. I like to get to know the players around me personally, finding out what they like and what they don’t like.

“You try and find something in common with the way they play and then as flyhalf you give them what they want. Continuity is also very important and we need to get our feet back on the ground as quickly as possible after what was a big win for us over the Lions. We need to keep growing as a group and get the new guys into the Springbok system as quickly as possible,” Jantjies said.

The owner of 38 Test caps stressed that the Springboks see Argentina as very tough opponents. Jantjies remembers well the last time they played the Pumas on South African soil: back in August 2019, the score was locked at 18-18 going into the last 10 minutes at Loftus Versfeld. Jantjies was the breaker of Argentinian hearts that day with his two late penalties taking the Springboks to a 24-18 win.

“Argentina will definitely be confident because they have had a few good results in the Rugby Championship. They always bring emotion and the last time we played them, in 2019 before the World Cup, it took us the full 80 minutes to beat them in South Africa. They will take positives from that. But we’ve also grown since then as a team.

“We have refocused after the Lions series and we know the first two games in the Rugby Championship are very important for us to remain champions,” Jantjies said.

David Miller is an outdoor kind of guy so being confined to his Lahore hotel room is taking a bit of getting used to, and on the field of play the 31-year-old says the lack of bounce on the Gaddafi Stadium pitch is going to be the main thing the Proteas have to adapt to in their T20 series against Pakistan which starts on Thursday afternoon, 3pm SA time.

South Africa take on Pakistan with only three members of the Test squad involved, so there has needed to be a period of acclimatisation, which Miller said has gone very well.

“I’ve only been to Pakistan before for a very brief time, only three games for a World XI in 2017, but we’ve all quickly realised how the conditions are here – the bounce is a lot lower than what we’re used to. But there are some venues in South Africa where the bounce is pretty low too and we have all travelled enough to adapt. It will be important to assess and adapt very quickly as we go along.

“I’m still getting used to playing in bubbles though, and I think the longer you play in a pandemic situation, the harder it gets. It’s quite restricting and you don’t have that free movement we’re used to, so it is quite challenging. Fortunately this tour is pretty short. We just need to sort ourselves out mentally and find a place we can come together as a team and address whatever issues there are as quickly as possible,” Miller said on Wednesday.

As a team, with just 218 T20 International caps between them and Miller having 78 of those and another 77 being shared between Andile Phehlukwayo, Tabraiz Shamsi and Reeza Hendricks, the Proteas acknowledge they are the underdogs but the nature of the format and the eagerness of the players being given the opportunity to stake World Cup claims, naturally levels the playing field.

“There’s been a lot of chat about this being a young side with new, inexperienced players, but they are being given a lot of opportunity to step up in a World Cup year, especially the guys who haven’t played before. We’ve prepared extremely well and as a senior player I would like to step up both on and off the field. It’s a really refreshing group and we are here to win and shine as much as we can.

“We respect the Pakistan side, but in T20 if you prepare well and mentally you’re up for the game, if you’re really switched on and stick to your processes, then I don’t see why the underdogs can’t win. We will come under pressure, but that’s a great opportunity to step up, we know we’re representing our country and we want to show the Proteas in the best possible light,” Miller, who has played 320 T20s at domestic, franchise and international level (second only to AB de Villiers’ 325 amongst South Africans), said.

French rugby might not have seen the last of Argentine backline star Juan Martin Hernandez, with the 31-year-old confirming this week that he will consider returning to European rugby in 2015.

Hernandez left Racing Metro last month despite still having 11 months remaining on his contract, to head back to Argentina to concentrate on Test duty and their looming entry into SuperRugby.

But their participation in SuperRugby only starts in 2016, so Hernandez will obviously have to find a stop-gap club for 2015.

The presence of Ireland and British Lions flyhalf Jonathan Sexton and the arrival of Springbok Johan Goosen may also have prompted Hernandez’s decision.

“I’m only without a club for the Rugby Championship and the Tests in November and then we will see what happens. 2015 is a new year,” Hernandez said rather cryptically last week.

Hernandez, like so many other Argentinians, came to France to develop his game and he said his time at Racing Metro had done much for his career.

“You try to reach a very good level as a rugby player and the standard is more high in France than in Argentina. It was a big step coming to France but 90% of the players in Argentina develop their game in Europe.

“Racing Metro were a very good, strong team and when I joined them they had just gone into the first division. So I was around for the construction of the team. It was my decision to go, but I think Racing Metro will have a great season to come and maybe they will be European and Top 14 champions,” Hernandez said.

The gifted utility back has played a measly 44 Tests in 10 years and the injury curse that has so afflicted his career struck again this weekend when he withdrew from the Test against the Springboks in Pretoria with a groin injury. Some Argentinian journalists at Loftus Versfeld called Hernandez’s injury problems more mental than physical.

The smart money at the moment is on El Mago joining his former club, Stade Francais, because Hugo Bonneval, a player they relied on heavily at fullback last season, is on the injured list.