Pienaar offered World Cup lifeline
Wed, 08 Sep 2010 18:59
Ruan Pienaar the scrumhalf. (c) Gallo
With a World Cup lifeline and a promise of a more permanent spot at scrumhalf, Springbok Ruan Pienaar is excited about his northern hemisphere venture. rugby365.com's Timmy Hancox chatted to him.
Pienaar said he was frustrated at being labeled a 'jack of all trades' and decided to make the move to link up with his new teammates at Ulster.
He will join up with them later this week.
Pienaar's versatility has hindered his development in any one position, with the talented back playing scrumhalf, flyhalf and fullback – sometimes all in the same match.
The 26-year-old is not the first Sharks player to become unsettled as a utility back - following in the footsteps of fellow Boks Francois Steyn and Brent Russell to go in the search for greener pastures abroad.
"It was a difficult decision [to leave South Africa], but I've played in a couple of positions the last few years and I need some stability in my career," Pienaar told rugby365.com in an exclusive interview.
"We've only got about 10 years in this sport if we lucky and I want make the most of it and play as well as possible."
Not for the first time in his career, Pienaar, has asked to be considered primarily in his preferred position at scrumhalf, which he says Ulster have agreed to do.
"I'm looking forward to spending more time at No.9 and improving as a player, after it has been a bit stop-start and frustrating over the last few seasons not playing at scrumhalf as much as I would have liked," he said.
"The Sharks knew I wanted to play at No.9 and I only helped out at No.10 if someone was injured or if they had nobody else.
"If Ulster have injuries and I'm asked to slot in at flyhalf I will, but defiantly not at fullback again. Hopefully everyone stays fit and I can spend more time at scrumhalf, because that's what I've asked for."
The 43-times capped Bok admitted that with the World cup just around the corner it may seem like a strange time to be moving, but he plans on fighting for a place in the national side.
"I've spoken to Peter de Villiers and he knows that Ulster are happy to release me whenever the Boks want to use me, so I'm available and it is always a huge honour to play for your country," Pienaar explained.
He is following in the footsteps of former Sharks BJ Botha and Johann Muller and Pienaar is excited about the challenge that Ulster presents as a small club with big goals.
"I had an opportunity to go to France, but I'm still young and that could still be a possibility in the future, but going to an English speaking nation was a better option," he said.
"Ulster is a smaller club, but with some big plans for the future and Ireland is a fantastic country with friendly people."
Pienaar plans to gain some valuable experience playing a couple of seasons in the northern hemisphere, but would like to be back at the Sharks in the future.
"I would like to come back to South Africa in the future and hopefully play for the Sharks again, because I really enjoyed my time there," he said.
"If you look at players who came back from overseas, they came back as more complete players, and Stefan [Terblanche] and Monty [Percy Montgomery] are prime examples of guys that have gone to the UK and been successful when they came back."
By Timmy Hancox
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