Phew…

What a start to the Nations Championship we had against England.

The Boks came flying out of the starting blocks and raced to a 17–0 lead after just 11 minutes. I was thinking to myself maybe we were about to give the Poms a real hiding.

But then, for the remainder of the first half, we faltered a bit and let them back into the game.

Fortunately, whatever was said during the halftime team talk clearly did the trick, and the Boks ran out comfortable winners in the end.

I wouldn’t call it a flawless performance.

But it was a statement to start the season nonetheless.

Spare a thought for South African-born Bristol Bears centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg, who was sitting in the stands.

He’s due to make his England debut in the coming weeks, but it was revealed in the build-up to the England game that Rassie had wanted to cap him this year.

They had even spoken to Van Rensburg, and he was keen to play for the Boks.

But because of a promise Rassie made to World Rugby (and England Rugby, it seems), they didn’t select him, and he will play for England instead.

The question I have to ask is…

Does the player get a say in that?

It certainly doesn’t seem like it.

What a luxury it must be for Rassie to make ten changes and still put out such a strong side against Scotland.

We all know South Africa has ridiculous depth, and although the Boks will use many, many players this year…

There will still be some very good players who never get close to a Springbok jersey.

So it’s really no surprise that South Africa is a net exporter of rugby talent, and many of those players have found their feet in Scotland before eventually pulling on the dark blue jersey.

A standout for me has always been Glasgow Warriors captain Kyle Steyn.

Born in Johannesburg, he started his career at Griquas before moving to Scotland, where he qualified through his ancestry.

He scored some fantastic tries during the Six Nations and is always a thorn in the Boks’ side whenever he pulls on a Scottish jersey.

Would he ever have made it as a Bok?

We’ll never know…

But one thing I can tell you for sure is this:

Kyle Steyn is still a SA boytjie at heart…

And like Rassie said in his press conference when talking about the possibility of capping Benhard Janse van Rensburg…

“When South Africans do well overseas, we’re happy for them.”

Until next time,

Rudi
Aussieboks