Schoeman focused only on victory in homecoming

PIERRE SCHOEMAN insists he has nothing to prove as he prepares to lock horns with some of his childhood friends in South Africa. Schoeman went to school in Pretoria and will return there tomorrow as part of an Edinburgh side who will take on the Bulls. The loosehead prop came through the ranks at the Bulls and spent the best part of eight years with them prior to joining Edinburgh in 2018. Schoeman has since gone on to become a full international for Scotland, despite representing the Springboks at Under-20s level. Edinburgh’s mini-tour of South Africa will finish next weekend when they face reigning United Rugby Championship champions the Stormers in Cape Town. But Schoeman insists he’s focused on the task at hand rather than trying to settle any old scores. ‘No, I’ve nothing to prove for nobody except myself,’ said the 28-year-old. ‘I’m very proud to play for Edinburgh and Scotland. ‘It’s really cool to play for Edinburgh against the Bulls at Loftus (Versfeld Stadium). These are my roots. It’s where I came from and played high-school rugby. ‘Now I get to do it with my mates in Edinburgh. For me, that’s such a nice thing. It would mean a lot to win. ‘We’re not going back to the drawing board or anything like that. We want to build on what we did last season.’ Edinburgh began their season in the best possible fashion last weekend with a bonus-point victory over the Dragons. Schoeman knows they will have to step it up against the South Africans, who feature a host of current Springboks among their ranks. Despite his local knowledge, though, Schoeman won’t be acting as the tour guide due to some mishaps on a previous trip to South Africa last season. ‘When we were in Durban (last season), I organised a shark dive experience,’ he laughed. ‘But when we got there, the weather was probably more like Edinburgh! ‘Then we had to go all the way back again. So they mocked me and said it was more like a shark drive than a dive!’