Jantjies excited by ‘responsibility’ of starting at 10 for Boks

The experienced Jantjies last started against Argentina in the Rugby Championship in August, but has earned a long-awaited return to the No 10 jersey after impressing off the bench in the last couple of Tests.

Bok coach Jacques Nienaber has also revealed that they believe Jantjies has the necessary skill-set to unlock the vaunted Scotland defence, with the experienced pivot renowned for his subtle touches and variety that he brings on attack.

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“I know it sounds like a cliche, but I’ve always said it – it’s not about me as an individual, but rather about the team,” Jantjies stated on Wednesday.

“Yes, there is a responsibility on me to lead the boys in terms of certain aspects of our game and execute and align in what we want to achieve and what we’ve been working on as a group.

“We have to focus on playing against Scotland this week and can’t look at the past, because this week will pose a number of different challenges.”

Last weekend, the Scots beat Australia in front of a boisterous crowd of close to 68,000 at Murrayfield, a result that will have boosted their confidence before Saturday’s clash with the Boks.

Even though the Boks have not lost to Scotland since 2010, winning six on the trot, Jantjies knows this weekend will be anything but easy.

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The last time South Africa faced Scotland was three years ago, on 17 November 2018, when Jantjies came off the bench to slot a late penalty goal that helped secure a 26-20 victory.

“This is a different-looking Scotland team to the one we faced in 2018, although their management is very similar,” said Jantjies.

“They will challenge us differently to three years ago, with a bunch of younger players who will be full of energy, alongside a number of very experienced players, and playing against the world champions will be added motivation for them.

“What will they bring this weekend? We’ll see on Saturday, in the first 10 minutes or 15 minutes, how they want to play against us, and we’ll have to find solutions to that.

“But our focus will be on ourselves, as a group, and to look to improve in certain things we’ve identified, because there is always room for improvement and that is the biggest thing about this group – we just want to get better every single week.”

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