Serfontein upbeat as Argentina loom

Rudolph Jacobs

Touted as probably the top Springbok performer in the June Test series against France, centre Jan Serfontein (left) is upbeat about the Rugby Championship opener against Argentinia next weekend.

Returning to Serfontein’s place of birth, the Boks open their Rugby Championship in Port Elizabeth with the team convening in the Friendly City from today.

“We are taking confidence from the June Test series against France into the championship,” said Serfontein at Montecasino yesterday where FNB was welcomed as a new Bok sponsor.

“We have two weeks of preparation ahead of us now before the first Test, so we are feeling very positive,” he said.

At 24, with 29 Tests to his name, the French-bound Serfontein was feeling confident about his own form.

“I have been able to get a lot of game time to improve my sharpness,” he said.

Serfontein said they can also take a lot confidence from the Lions’ performances in Super Rugby this year.

“The Lions had a great season, they were unlucky in the final, but they showed the whole country that our teams are still up there with the New Zealanders,” he said.

“There’s also a lot of Lions in the squad so they will bring a lot of confidence with them.”

Serfontein believed the loss of Warren Whiteley as captain was huge.

“Warren is a big loss as a player and a captain, but there’s still a lot of depth with Eben (Etzebeth) captaining the side in the last game and Jean-Luc (du Preez) stepping up at No 8.”