Faf’s on fire & Rohan’s rocking in the UK
Faf de Klerk kicked Sales Sharks to victory against Harlequins and his former Lions teammate Rohan Janse van Rensburg was influential in crossing for two tries.
De Klerk, brilliant for the Lions and Springboks in the early part of the 2016 international season, was a non selection for the Boks in 2017, but he continues to excel for the Sales Sharks.
De Klerk, who has taken on the responsibility of back-up place kicker, nailed two late kicks to secure a 30-29 win for Sales.
De Klerk, under the current 30-Test rule, is unavailable for Springboks selection. The rule, as it currently stands, is only applicable for 2018, with players (regardless of their domestic base) all eligible for Test selection in the 2019 World Cup year.
Janse van Rensburg, like Stormers No 8 Nizaam Carr at Wasps, is on a short-term English Premiership contract. Both Carr and Van Rensburg are due to return for Super Rugby, but such has been the impact of both players that it would be no surprise if they were offered contract extensions to make the move to England more permanent.
Carr is one of a handful of South Africans producing impressive performances at Wasps, with former Stormers captain Juan de Jongh, Springbok fullback Willie le Roux and Springbok loose-forward Ashley Johnson always prominent. Johnson, who plays at hooker, this season passed 150 matches for Wasps and Le Roux’s 17 try assists are the most in the Premiership in the 2017/18 season.
Wasps Director of Rugby David Young praised De Jongh’s contribution in a recent interview with Stephen Jones of the London Sunday Times.
‘Juan has really helped our defence, he defends high, makes a lot of tackles, distributes really well. He doesn’t do huge stand-out moments but keeps the team together. He will be a big part of us.’ said Young.
De Jongh, who played 19 Tests for the Springboks, has committed his short-term future to Wasps.
