Van Zyl oozing with confidence
SEMIFINAL SHOWDOWN: ‘WE BELIEVE WE CAN WIN’
No 9 harks back to 2016 when he scored match-winning try.
Blue Bulls scrumhalf Ivan van Zyl has expressed his great love for the Currie Cup and is delighted for the opportunity to run on to the field at the start with the No 9 on his back in Saturday’s Currie Cup semifinal against Western Province at Newlands.
It was a tough call for Pote Human to choose between Van Zyl and his fellow Springbok second-string scrumhalf Embrose Papier in terms of who starts and who is on the bench, but the coach has gone for the greater experience of the man who scored the match-winning try for the Blue Bulls against Western Province in the 2016 semifinal.
“Embrose and I both just love playing and we offer different things, so I’m just thankful for the opportunity to start. It will be great to get some game time, because Faf de Klerk was playing some really good rugby for the Springboks. At least it will be my fifth Currie Cup game this season and I know how to handle the pressure.
“As scrumhalf, our job is to relieve the pressure when needed, through making good decisions. So Embrose and I will focus on our own jobs, we still have a lot to learn but we boost each other. I’m just proud to be part of the Currie Cup semifinals and I will do all I can to win it. No matter what is said about the Currie Cup, it is still a legendary competition.
“I saw the video of that 2016 game again this week and it was a special moment for me, and actually the only game I played for the senior team that year. Piet van Zyl got concussed and I had to fill in for seven minutes and they were the best seven minutes of my life!
“And then a year ago when John Mitchell arrived, I was just hoping for an opportunity on the bench for the Currie Cup, now I’ve made my Test debut and I’m starting in a semifinal,” Van Zyl said.
While the municipality’s pressure on Western Province to move from Newlands to the Green Point Stadium means this could be the last semifinal at the Grand Old Lady of South African rugby, providing great motivation for the hosts, Van Zyl promised the Blue Bulls will be bringing great passion themselves to Cape Town.
“What could be better than playing Western Province at Newlands and we’ll be ready. We are definitely underdogs, but it’s a semifinal and anything can happen and we certainly believe we can win, we know exactly how to do it and if we execute our plan 100% then we’re definitely in there with a chance. Everyone will have to be at their utter best though.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve beaten Western Province at Newlands, but we have nothing to lose and we are mentally up for the game, so we’ll use that to our advantage.
“There’s no doubt about how much we want this and we are ready to fight for 80 minutes or even longer. I think it will be another close game and hopefully we can win it at the end again like in 2016,” Van Zyl said.