Faf de Klerk Bok Lood

Faf de Klerk. Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Springbok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk hailed for Premiership impact

Faf de Klerk has been labelled superb by Sale Sharks Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson after helping the club to victory over Newcastle on Friday.

Faf de Klerk Bok Lood

Faf de Klerk. Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Sale Sharks Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson has lavished praise on Springbok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk who has been in excellent form for his English club this season.

Faf de Klerk keeps getting better

De Klerk transformed his game when he moved to the northern hemisphere which is part of the reason he was recalled to the Springbok lineup in 2018.

The Bok halfback has helped keep the Sale Sharks in the hunt for the Premiership title this season, and was again influential in a 31-16 win against Newcastle on Friday.

His impact was exemplified in Sale’s first try with his bullet pass setting Marlon Yarde into the corner.

Watch Sale Sharks Bok-laden team dispose of Newcastle

Springbok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk hailed for Premiership impact

“Faf De Klerk was superb again wasn’t he? He’s world-class as it is right now but he’s still progressing in the game. We can still get quicker ball to him though,” Sanderson said after the fixture.

“If we can get some X-factor like Manu Tuilagi or Rohan Janse Van Rensburg in there, they get you quick ball. That’s when you’re super dangerous isn’t it? We’ll see where he goes from there.

“At the moment, though, he’s getting a better platform from the forwards with the maul and the scrum. But there’s certainly more to come from him.”

It is unclear at this stage when Faf de Klerk will be able to pull on a Springbok jersey again with the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa hanging in the air.

Faf de Klerk Lood de Jager
SALFORD, ENGLAND – MARCH 05: Sale Sharks forward Lood De Jager runs the ball away from Falcons wing Mateo Carreras (l) and Matias Orlando while Faf de Klerk looks on during the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match between Sale and Newcastle Falcons at AJ Bell Stadium on 5 March 2021 in Salford, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Sale’s team is packed with Springboks including Rugby World Cup winner Lood de Jager, who got on the scoresheet against Newcastle.

Sanderson is an admirer of what South African players bring to the Premiership and they do contribute to the intensity with which the Shatks ply their trade in the Premiership.

“It’s not just in the system, it’s in the mentality, which is what it essentially comes down to,” Sanderson said.

“We thought we lacked a little bit of intensity post the Bristol game for a couple of weeks and we’ve been trying to get back there. I thought we had it last week [against Exeter] and we saw it in spades.

“Line speed and collisions, it was all there.”

All the rugby on TV this weekend – 5-7 March 2021