Rising talent Ruan Venter eager to make Springbok debut

Lions utility forward Ruan Venter is hoping to make a major impact for the Highveld side in their final few games of the United Rugby Championship (URC) season as he aims to make the Springbok squad for the international season.

The 21-year-old Venter was invited to the first Bok alignment camp of the season in early March, indicating that he is an option for the Bok management, and he hopes that he might get a look in for the national team.

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The Boks open their season against Wales at Twickenham in a match that falls outside of the international window, which means their European based players will be unavailable, as well as any players who make the URC final.

Great opportunity

They will also play against Portugal in July and these two games offer a great opportunity for a number of exciting up and coming youngsters to possibly be picked to make their debuts for the Boks.

“We obviously know that those two games offer a chance for some of the young guys to possibly get a game. So that gives us extra motivation and fuel to play well over these last few URC games to try and prove yourself,” said Venter.

“To prove that you are good enough to maybe get a chance against Wales or Portugal. That would be an amazing experience and is a real driving force for many of us.

“The (Bok alignment) camp has given me a platform to express myself and the opportunity to play myself into the team which is all I can do. I just have to give my best and the rest isn’t up to me. So I will play and do my best, which is what I am focusing on.”

Venter admitted that he learnt a lot from the Bok alignment camp and that he had been working hard on a number of things brought up during the many meetings that the players attended over the few days in Cape Town.

Learnt a lot

“The camp was amazing for me personally. I learnt a lot. They gave us a lot of clarity on where we can improve. They told us as players what they look at in terms of their selection methods,” explained Venter.

“The camp had a lot of meetings and it was great to just listen to them (the Bok management) on how they think and how they are approaching this season as a group.

“I did speak to the defence coach Jerry (Flannery) and he showed me a few of my clips and showed me things that I could work on. So it really was a great experience that I enjoyed massively.”

Venter continued: “Being in that environment with some of the World Cup winners was amazing. A few years back I was sitting and watching them at the World Cup and they were my hero’s.

“Now I was sitting in the same room as them and that was an amazing experience. I learnt a lot and I am still learning a lot and I am very excited about what is to come.”

Venter isn’t the only Lions player who was invited to the alignment camp, with halfbacks Sanele Nohamba, Jordan Hendrikse and Morne van den Berg, fullback Quan Horn and centre Henco van Wyk also included.

Bok squad

Although Van Wyk is very unlucky to have been ruled out for the rest of the season due to undergoing knee surgery, the other players will also hope to make the Bok squad.

“It is very nice because we are all in the same boat at the moment of trying to break into that double World Cup winning team. Which is incredibly difficult to do. But it is also exciting at the same time and we all are in the same situation of wanting to prove ourselves,” said Venter.

Venter is also hoping to one day line-up in the green and gold alongside some of his hero’s and represent the Boks for years to come.

“There are two guys in particular who I have always looked up to over the past few years, Eben (Etzebeth) and Pieter-Steph (du Toit). Mainly because they play in a similar way to what I do,” said Venter.

“Eben is probably the best enforcer in the world and Pieter-Steph’s work rate and tackling is just amazing. So to be able to have the opportunity to play alongside those guys one day and learn from them is a huge goal of mine.”