Boks go for bad cop, 'badder' cop
In the last decade-and-a-half South African constantly relied on a second row combination of good cop (Victor Matfield, bad cop (Bakkies Botha).
However, the new generation of De Jager and Eben Etzebeth see themselves as both being "enforcers".
While their off-field personalities are far from the same, De Jager feels they can both turn on the heat on the field.
"He [Etzebeth] is more an intense figure than I am," De Jager told World Rugby TV.
"Off the field I'm a more relaxed kind of guy. I like to make a joke and take it a bit easy.
"But on the field there's no good cop, bad cop, I think we try to be bad cop and 'badder' [sic] cop. Hopefully it works."
While Etzebeth, the older of the two by a year, has the power to intimidate with his bulging biceps and brooding looks, baby-faced De Jager is more than happy engaging his brain to outthink the opposition as well as using his brawn.
A keen student of the game, De Jager isn't afraid to put in the hard work, both on and off the training field in a bid to get an edge at line-out time.
"Monday and Tuesday you look at the line-out and discuss what you want to do against the opposition and what they do," he said.
"It's a lot of analysing, a lot of research, but I like it.
"I like the line-out, it's a passion of mine so I don't see it as a chore or as work, I just see it as something I enjoy.
"Some teams complicate the line-out a lot whereas we keep it simple.
"We don't have triple spins and one guy running in because that's just a recipe for disaster. We have a lot of options but they're simple options."
As a 14-year-old De Jager watched South Africa win World Cup 2007 back home on TV, and he admits rubbing shoulders with some of the stars of that team has left an indelible impression on him.
"I think for the young guys in the team, it's amazing, it's immense. We bring the emotion to the team and guys like Victor [Matfield], Fourie [du Preez] and Schalk [Burger] bring so much calmness and composure."
Following in the footsteps of Botha and Matfield – the most-capped second-row partnership in history – was never going to be easy, but, in De Jager and Etzebeth, South Africa's second row is in safe hands – potentially for many years to come.
Both in their early 20s, De Jager and Etzebeth played key roles in helping South Africa reach the semifinals of World Cup 2015.
Peerless in the line-out and destructive around the park in attack and defence, the Springboks' boiler-house brat pack stood head and shoulders above most of their rivals in England.
When Etzebeth first wore the green and gold in 2012, 2.06-metre tall De Jager was still playing age-grade at University.
But once the Bloemfontein-based Free State Cheetahs offered him a Super Rugby contract two years ago, he has shot up the ranks to become one of the most highly-rated second row forwards in the world.
"Three years ago I was playing in the Varsity Cup competition for North-West University (Pukke) in Potchefstroom," 23-year-old De Jager told World Rugby TV.
"I think I was a late bloomer at school, I played well but I didn't play Craven Week, or any of the youth weeks or South African schools or anything like that.
"Then Naka Drotské gave me an opportunity at the Cheetahs, and here I am, I can't believe it!"
Source: World Rugby TV
