Skinstad wants to contribute

Bob Skinstad spoke about his excitement at being included in the Springbok squad for the Rugby World Cup in France.

“It’s a mix of euphoria. I’m so excited to be going, but there’s a little bit of nervous apprehension.

“I want to contribute, I want to spur the guys on in terms of the main team, the guys who are going to start. I want to contribute in terms of leadership and experience.

“I just want all those things to mix right — I’m probably like a nervous teenager at the moment who’s had a second chance.”

“There certainly was some apprehension at first, but the important thing is that I’ve got a lot of self-belief and I’ve always believed in the guys around me.

“John Smit and Butch were doing a very good job down in Durban and I think with Dick Muir at the helm and with the arrival of John Plumtree, I saw a couple of stars aligning where I could contribute and I believed I could go into that.

“I never felt, ‘Wow it’s just me versus the world’, I thought I could slot in as part of that, and that helped.

“It has been very sudden (his elevation back to the Springbok team), but I had a couple of opportunities against Samoa and then Australia away. I came through those two games and played the role I needed to.

“We were so close to beating Australia and I was quite disappointed that we went over there with a ‘B-Team’ and didn’t beat them. I think the country also felt that, which makes me more and more positive that our ‘A-Team’ is the right team to be taken to the World Cup.

“Some of us that went on that tour to Australasia are now backing them up.

“For me, personally, getting into it is exciting and challenging. It’s been a big task, but I’ve enjoyed it. I love challenges and I wouldn’t be back here if I didn’t think I could be part of that team. I had to take it in my stride as it happened.”

“The team spirit is incredibly strong and it’s crucial. This is probably the most together Springbok side I’ve ever played in.

“The guys who played the most games together care about each other and know each other — you can see these guys are friends, no matter what Province they come from. It’s one of the first times in South African rugby that that’s started to happen again.

“Jake’s been good like that, he’s picked the same guys, so they know each other and care about each other and that lends itself to self-belief.

“The players believe they should be there, they feel their mates believe they should be there and they believe they’re the best in their positions.

“That self-belief is exactly what you need to take into a tournament and that’s why it’s so crucial to be playing in a big tournament with a team that believes in themselves — but also has that team spirit and togetherness,” said Skinstad.