Gary Botha and Bismarck Du Plessis talked about their selection for the Bok team to face the All Blacks on Saturday. Botha will start at hooker in place of the injured John Smit, while Du Plessis warms the bench as Botha’s replacement.
Botha revealed his pride at being selected to the Bok side.
“To play for the Springboks is a great honour, even if it is only because the captain is injured. It is an even greater honour when one has to try to fill the boots of someone who has played as Springbok captain in more Tests than anyone else.
He said that the week’s preparations had been good.
“It will need a different psychological approach to the buildup. But our preparations have been good. We have good structures and the guys are a good bunch to be with. There are a lot of senior players. Maybe that is something I do not have to worry about.
“It’s also about the characters around you. For instance, I will pack alongside a guy like Os. He has been around for a long time; he has been in a team that won the World Cup. That is experience that cannot be bought and I’d like to learn a lot from him.
When asked about his opposite number in Saturday’s test, Anton Oliver, he said:
“I don’t think one should spend too much time thinking about your direct opponent. Rugby is not an individual sport. These days, I think, one can measure oneself against your immediate opposition only in certain positions.â€
Meanwhile, Bismarck Du Plessis – a star for the Sharks in this year’s Super14 – is looking forward to his first game as a Bok – albeit as a replacement.
“Everybody says that spaces are smaller and scrums are tighter in Test rugby. But being the selected hooker is already a great achievement for me. In the two games I have played against him, Anton is a very good scrummager, whereas Keven gets around the park a little more – a little more mobile. They complement each other completely. It’s going to be a tough battle up front.”
“I am definitely nervous. It is just like all the guys told me, it is a dream come true. Ever since you start playing rugby and start looking up to senior players you want to do this, and to get the opportunity to represent your country is an awesome thing.”
John Smit, his Sharks team mate and captain, has been giving the nervous Du Plessis plenty if advice ahead of his first teat.
“It is not really a case of me taking his position. It is a case of him helping me now to become what I want to be. Yes, helping me to put pressure on him, but in a sense of also helping him be the best he can be. He has been the best hooker in South Africa for the last four years.
“I am always learning from him. He teaches me about the scrum, and especially for this game. Whatever legend he leaves behind, it is my target to match and maybe better the standards he tries to set.
“I have an awesome relationship with John, he helps me a lot, and I know he will help me as the nerves get worse and worse on Thursday and Friday and especially on Saturday. I am not struggling to sleep yet, but I know it will come.”
Bismarck still dreams of playing for the Springboks alongside his brother Jannie (prop for the Cheetahs).
“My brother is just as happy for me to be sitting here as I would be for him to be sitting here. It is every bit as much a dream to play for the Springboks myself as it is to have us scrumming down in the green and gold as numbers 2 and 3 together.”