Bok blend is just right for the World Cup, says JP
JOHANNESBURG: Forget about the defeat to Argentina in Durban and the disappointing results of the last few months. In fact, forget everything the Springboks have done in the last four years. What matters is the next eight weeks, according to Bok wing JP Pietersen.
The seasoned campaigner, who’ll play at his third World Cup in England from next week, says the focus of the team is only on what lies ahead. The Boks kick off their Pool B challenge with a match against Japan next Friday in Brighton.
The Boks go into the tournament on the back of Rugby Championship losses to Australia, New Zealand and Argentina and plenty of questions being asked about the makeup of the side, with several players coming off lengthy injury lay-offs.
But Pietersen, who’s still only 28 years old, says the Boks are not looking to avenge their semifinal exit at the hands of Australia four years ago or what went wrong in the recently played Rugby Championship.
“Going to this World Cup and trying to win it has been our goal for the last four years, ever since coach Heyneke (Meyer) came in,” he said.
“We’re going there with a clean sheet... What happened in the Rugby Championship is in the past. Our focus now is only on Japan and then we’ll take it a game at a time. “The Rugby Championship was a learning curve for us and we’ve worked on and corrected a number of things from what we learned. That’s what we did in Durban (at the camp) for five weeks.”
The big No 14 is also looking to regain his best form after an indifferent few years, where he struggled with injury and was used as a centre as well. He’s hoping to reach the standards he set during the 2007 World Cup, when the Boks went all the way and lifted the trophy.
“In 2007, I was still young and there was a lot of excitement. I was just keen to get out there and play. In 2011, I knew more about what was expected, but I wasn’t at my best and this year I know myself even better,” Pietersen said.
“I think you’ll probably see a different JP in 2015... maybe the people will talk about the JP Pietersen of 2015 afterwards and not the JP of 2007 anymore. I can’t wait to get there. We’ve trained hard, skills-wise and on our conditioning, so I’m feeling really good. We’ve got a great squad; there’s lots of experience, but there are also youngsters so the blend is just right.
“Like the coach said to us the other day, ‘If everything goes well, we’ll see the best rugby South Africa have ever played at a World Cup’.”
Pietersen, who can also play at outside centre if the need arises, will be a key man in the Bok back division. He could well have rookies Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel on his inside in the early games and Willie le Roux at the back as well, so his experience of World Cup rugby could be crucial. He knows South Africa is expecting a big performance from him and the team.
“There are a lot of people out there who look up to us. We have a responsibility to win and we’ll be trying to do that. Our goal is to go out there and make this nation proud again.”