Expect a new JP, says winger

SPRINGBOK winger JP Pietersen says people must forget about the 2007 version of him because he is a different player from the 21-year-old who stormed onto the scene and helped South Africa win the World Cup in France.

To say he has replicated his 2007 displays infrequently would be quite the understatement, but the 29-year-old said he was poised to make a major contribution as a more experienced player in this his third World Cup.

The in-form Pietersen years have been something to behold. When he turns it on, you can tell by his long purposeful strides galloping towards the finish line with deceptive speed.

In 2013, playing at No 13 for the Sharks, Pietersen blew the Stormers out of the park at Newlands in that year’s Super Rugby semifinal. It was the last of the great Pietersen dominance we saw.

At 18 touchdowns, he is still behind Stefan Terblanche (19), James Small (20) and Pieter Rossouw (21) on the all-time Springbok try scorers list, which is an indictment of how short he has fallen of where many expected him to be.

“You’re going to see a different JP in the 2015 tournament,” Pietersen said.

“Forget about JP 2007. I was young and excited in 2007, I wasn’t too sure what the World Cup was all about and I just wanted to play for South Africa. In 2011, I was more experienced and I knew what was expected of us.

“The year 2011 was probably not my best year, but this year I know what to expect of myself. I know myself better and have been working on getting myself in peak condition.

“I’ve been training very hard with the conditioning coach [Basil Carzis] and he loves every moment. I’ve not just been running, but working on my skills as well.

“I’m feeling pretty good and raring to go against Japan,” he said.