Nkosi puts trust in fellow players
HE IS EXCITED TO MAKE HIS DEBUT FOR THE BOKS
The two young wings will rely on the experience of Willie le Roux.
Most players’ nerves reach almost boiling point the night before their international debut, but not if your name is new Springbok wing S’bu Nkosi.
The 22-year-old Sharks wing spoke of the big occasion today, when he runs out with the No 14 on his back for the first time in the first England Test at Ellis Park.
“I’m not a nervous kind of person, I’m more excited than anything, I think that I’m confident in the players around me,” he said.
“They bring confidence out of me, we are very well prepared, there’s a lot of attention to detail, I don’t feel any nerves as yet, just very confident,” he said.
Originally from Mpumalanga, but a youth player in Johannesburg, Nkosi is no stranger to Ellis Park
“Ellis Park is a very special stadium and it’s even more special as it’s where it all started when I played for the Lions in junior ranks, Ellis Park was always the be all and end all,” he said.
While Nkosi and fellow wing Aphiwe Dyantyi will make their debuts, they will rely heavily on the experience of fullback Willie le Roux, who has starred in 41 Tests, but hasn’t played for the Boks since 2015.
“I spent all my time with them, it’s vital to understand your teammates, we put a lot of emphasis in analysing the opposition,” Nkosi said.
“But you also study your own team-mates, how they play and how they plan in beating defenders and support them and how they react to certain things, how you can bring out the best in them,” he said.
Nkosi, who said prop Beast Mtawarira who plays his 99th Test today, has always been somebody he looked up to and idolised.
He added he believed he is a more mature player now than last year.
“I feel it’s the perfect time, the fact that it’s happening now means the timing is perfect, I’m a more experienced player than last year because I played more rugby,” he said.