De Jager praises experienced ‘blood brothers’
"Bakkies one of the best to learn under": de Jager.
Newly-capped Springbok player, Lood de Jager, says he is absorbing everything he can from veterans like Bakkies Botha, claiming the experienced player is one of the best to learn under.
Heyneke Meyer called-up a solid mix of experience and rising stars for the Castle Lager Series the Boks have been participating in, which included the likes of Botha and Victor Matfield.
Their experience has been described as the perfect platform to help the development of the younger players, and de Jager says that the presence of the ‘blood brothers’ has given the team a great impetus.
“Bakkies, now he is a meneer (mister),” said De Jager.
“When I was growing up Bakkies and Victor were the ‘blood brothers’, the lock pairing everyone was in awe of, and now being able to tour with them and be part of the same squad is just unbelievable.
“I am learning a lot from Victor about the lineouts, and I am learning from both of them about general play as a lock.”
De Jager is only 21 and, thus, would have been just 14 when Bakkies and Matfield were gearing up for their World Cup success back in 2007.
