After an almost two-year absence, Jean-Luc du Preez has fought his way back into the Springbok squad and he’s been handed a heavy-duty role in the middle of the action.
Du Preez forms part of an experimental loose-trio with captain Siya Kolisi and newbie Vincent Tshituka for the non-cap clash against the Barbarians at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
In what was Rassie Erasmus’ second match at the helm of the Boks, Du Preez last started alongside Kolisi in 2018 against England — Damian de Allende and Franco Mostert the two other survivors from that game. He has since made three appearances for the Boks, the last of which came against Argentina in the buildup to the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
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The 29-year-old has been deployed to add punch from the base of the Bok scrum where he’ll be used to batter the advantage line, while Tshituka’s mobility looks set to be utilised much like Pieter-Steph du Toit in the wide channels.
“I’m looking forward to playing with Siya and Vincent,” said the 14-Test forward. “I will be taking on the Jasper Wiese role in the middle of the field.”
Du Preez and co are up against the likes of former All Blacks Shannon Frizell and Sam Cane, as well as Irish legend Peter O’ Mahony, and he’s expecting the battle of the back rows to crackle with Test match fire.
“They’ll be coming hard. They’ll want to prove themselves against the Boks and that’s where we’ll need to front up. I think they’ll definitely want to prove a point, because just playing against the Springboks will get them up for it. “
Though the fundamentals have not changed within the Bok setup since he was last part of it, Du Preez credits attack coach Tony Brown for turning the Springboks into an all-round team.
“I would say the difference Tony has made coming in is that the Boks have always been labelled … I don’t want to say ‘boring’ … but a very conservative team. We kick a lot and we play in their half of the field,” he said. “I just think with Tony coming in these last two years, our attack has really stepped up.”
Photo: Juan Jose Gasparini/Gallo Images
