Van den Berg is a big Januarie fan

Lions scrumhalf Morne van den Berg (above) admitted that former Lions and Stormers scrumhalf Ricky Januarie was a major inspiration for him growing up and he will now attempt to walk in his footsteps as he enters the Springbok set-up.

Van Den Berg was one of six Lions players who were selected for the first Bok alignment camp of the season, to take place in Cape Town at the start of next month, and he will be aiming to stand out amongst a crowd of top scrumhalves.

He would do well to make a splash like Januarie, who will forever be remembered for helping the Boks make history in New Zealand, with his brilliant individual try against the All Blacks in the 2008 Tri Nations securing their firstever win in Dunedin and breaking a 10-year losing streak in the country.

“Obviously Fourie du Preez was quite a legend when I was growing up. But I was quite a big Lions supporter. So I loved the Ricky Januarie and Andre Pretorius linkup. So Ricky Januarie was quite the guy when I grew up,” said Van Den Berg.

“The chip and chase in Dunedin is still one of my favourite (Springbok) tries until today.”

Van Den Berg was informed of the callup in a team meeting along with the other selected players and their team-mates and admits that it was an exciting day for the whole group. He is now eager to learn as much as he can from the up-coming camp.

“I was overwhelmed and excited to get the call-up. It has always been a dream, so to get that good news was quite exciting. It was a special day. We had a good reception from the team as well. There was a lot of excitement amongst the squad,” said Van Den Berg.

“I think the competition (at the Lions and Boks) is quite a good thing. So the thing is to just learn where you can and be coachable, and when your opportunity comes, be ready.

“My mindset going there is to learn from the players who have already been there. To be a sponge, soak in as much as I can, and to be ready and competitive where I can.”

He has always been one of the hardest working members in the Lions set-up, putting in extra hours after training and trying to improve his game wherever he can, but Van Den Berg knows that the real hard work starts now trying to stay in the Bok fold.

“I think the (long) hours have led up to this. Your skill level has to be at a certain point (to make the Bok set-up).