Potgieter ready to 'stake his claim'
Thu, 17 Jun 2010 19:22
Staking his claim: Springbok flank Dewald Potgieter
Despite having captained the Emerging Springboks and having been a member of the senior Bok set-up since last year, loose forward Dewald Potgieter still feels he has to justify his presence in the national team.
Potgieter will start in only his second Test for South Africa, when he runs out against Italy in Witbank on Saturday. His three previous appearances were as a replacement against Ireland in November, starting against Wales in Cardiff earlier this month and again as replacement against France last week.
The 23-year-old Bulls star will now have to put behind him the disappointment of not being able to play alongside stalwart Schalk Burger, a player on who he has based his own game.
Burger was withdrawn from the Bok team on Thursday, after failing to recover from an ankle sprain sustained during last week's 42-17 Test win over France.
However, Potgieter is determined to make the most of an opportunity to stake a claim for a place in the Boks' Tri-Nations and World Cup squads.
He admitted that Burger has been a big influence on his career.
"I based parts of my game on his game," he told rugby365.com from the team's base in Witbank.
"The defensive aspect of his [Burger's] game is something I always felt I should make part of my game," he said, adding: "It would have been nice to play with him."
He admitted that, like Burger, he is not a fetcher in the traditional sense, but feels he could play the openside role with success.
In the absence of Burger, he will now partner with a true scavenger in Francois Louw, but even if the change had not been forced on the team, Potgieter would not have changed his approach.
"Yes, you do get guys that attack the ruck and force turnovers, but that is just one way to ensure turnovers," he told rugby365.com.
"At the tackle ball situation where you can attack [counter ruck] the ball and you can secure turnovers.
"I also chase a lot of kicks and contest the ball in the air, where I can secure possession.
"We tend to forget that those could also be great attacking balls.
"I feel those are the aspects of the game where I can make a contribution."
He admitted that he could play a bigger role in the breakdown and something he will focus on in the future.
But for now, he is happy to fulfill the role of Burger - a high-energy player that enjoys the physical aspects of the game.
"It is not that I can't play that role [of a fetcher], but the teams I have played for and the dynamics of the games have never required of me to play like that," he told rugby365.com.
"I played openside flank for the Emerging Springboks against the B&I Lions last year and we did well," he said of the 13-all draw at Newlands.
"It [fetcher] is a role that I can fulfil.
"One of my strengths is that I can play openside, blindside and No.8.
"This weekend is a chance to show my dynamics and to justify why I am here," Potgieter added.
He said it is "always great to be part of the Bok set-up", especially at this stage of their campaign - just a year out form the World Cup.
"Even, if just for a moment, we forget about the Tri-Nations coming up - which is obviously something you want to be involved in - but there is a World Cup next year and only so many places available.
"That is always why I am looking forward to the opportunity to play, to stake my claim to be part of that group.
"There is plenty to play for and that is why I am looking forward to every chance that I get and I must make full use of the opportunity."
The flank admitted that there is expectations of an easy win for the Boks - considering they are the Tri-Nations champions and only a week ago put 40 points past the Six Nations champions, France.
However, Potgieter said their focus is not on winning margins or the opposition.
"It will be the downfall of any team if they look at the game in that way and that's your mentality," he said of the expectations that South Africa should win easily against the team that finished last in the Six Nations.
"Our success will be found in the way that we can enforce our gameplan on them," he said of the Witbank Test, adding: "That is always more important than focussing on the opposition or to worry about what their strengths and weaknesses are.
"The most important thing for us is to start at zero, even though we had a good win against France.
"That win [at Newlands last week] will give us confidence, but every game has its own merits. We certainly have to start at zero if we want to get the best out of the team."
While most of the focus this week has been on the threat posed by the powerful Italian scrum, Potgieter's focus is on the breakdown battle.
"Their loose forwards are something of an unknown factor to me," he said, adding: "You don't have to do too much research to realise that they are very physical, at scrum time, in the line-outs and with their with driving play.
"I expect their loose trio to take the fight to us and I expect a physical onslaught from them - that is what I prepare myself for."
Like all the Boks this week he is relishing the opportunity to play a Test in the unusual venue of Witbank, a coal-mining town in the province on Mpumalanga.
"It is great to have an opportunity to play in rural venues. I am, myself, from a smaller place and these people don't always have the chance to get to the players like those [fans] in the big centres," said Potgieter, who was schooled at Daniel Pienaar HTS, in Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape.
"You can just look at the crowds at our training sessions this week and the fans at our hotel looking for signatures to realise how keen they are and that makes it great to play a Test here and give back to the people who don't always have the opportunity to get to the Boks."
By Jan de Koning