RG Snyman on his Bok debut: I’ll slow down for the wings next time!

Rookie Springbok lock RG Snyman made a massive impression on Test debut against England at Ellis Park last week.

The 23-year-old Bulls star has clearly flourished under his franchise coach John Mitchell and has carried that form onto the international stage.

Here’s what he had to say about his first game in the Green-and-Gold.

On that vital lineout steal at the end that secured the win…

To be honest, I think it was more a spur-of-the-moment decision to contest the lineout rather than just defend. I’m very happy it turned out the way it did! We got the ball back and closed the game from there.

On his clean pair of heels when he broke the line in the second half…

(Laughs) Firstly, when I started running and realised no-one was tackling me, I decided to go for it. Ja, I was looking for some support, especially for those two wingers of us (Aphiwe Dyantyi and S’bu Nkosi) but it didn’t seem to come. I’ll have to slow down for them!

On whether his recollections of his debut were a blur…

After the first 20 minutes, it felt like the game was never going to end. I’m happy we got it back together.  But a guy like Duane (Vermeulen) spoke to us behind the posts, and we were able to get it together and fight back. I’m really grateful to have got the opportunity to play my first Test, and I’m now really looking forward to getting out there again.

On why the lock position in South African rugby is so competitive…

(Laughs) I think it’s the sheer brutality of our players. It’s just a lot of big guys that really want to hurt each other.

On whether he’s a combination of the legendary Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha…

I don’t know. That’s a bit of a tough question. It’s up to everyone else to decide that, I just play my game.

On how his game has evolved…

John Mitchell doesn’t put a lot of pressure on us really. He really emphasises the fun factor. That’s what makes the difference. I really enjoy playing with (injured teammate) Lood de Jager too. He’s so experienced and works very hard before every game. He helps me a lot just to play my natural game.