AUDIO: Faf has a 'few strings to his bow'
JUNE SPOTLIGHT: England’s players will be up against a familiar face when they take on the Springboks in the first Test in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Scrumhalf Francois de Klerk, who last featured for the Boks in 2016, seems certain to start in the green and gold No.9 jersey on Saturday.
The 26-year-old left the Lions for Sale Sharks in 2017 and he has flourished in England’s Premiership. He was nominated for Premiership Player of the Season for 2017/2018.
“He’s come into the Premiership and he’s done extremely well for Sale in terms of pushing for the top six towards the end,” said England scrumhalf Ben Youngs.
“He’s certainly a guy that’s definitely in form and I’m sure he’ll be looking to do that at Test level.
“It’s also good a lot of guys will have played against him this year, so we’ll be familiar with his strengths and he’s got a fair few strings to his bow.
“He’s a lively player, good kicking game, he’s happy to challenge the line and he’s clearly a threat.”
Youngs knows that De Klerk will also be passing on some knowledge of the England players in his own camp.
“He will certainly be familiar with the [England] guys and their traits – what they are good at or their weaknesses.
“He will certainly be able to give them [the Springboks] an insight in terms of some of those guys for sure,” Youngs added.
