AUDIO: South African-born flanker hopeful to face childhood team

LISTEN as a South African-born loose forward Ross Vintcent speaks about potentially facing the Boks, whom he once supported at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Exeter Chiefs and Italy loose forward Vintcent had an interesting pathway to international rugby.

Born in Morningside, Johannesburg, Vintcent’s family moved to Dubai at the age of three due to his father’s work obligations.

However, his schooling took place in the country of his birth, where he attended Bishops Diocesan College in Cape Town where he was teammates with Bok flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

He joined Italy’s national academy in 2020 as he qualified to represent the Azzurri through his maternal grandfather.

He made his United Rugby Championship debut for Zebre in Round One against Cardiff in 2021 before taking up his studies at the University of Exeter in England.

Vintcent joined the Exeter University Rugby Club and was soon spotted by the region’s Premiership side Exeter Chiefs, for whom he made his debut in the Premiership Rugby Cup.

Now back in the city of his birth with the Italian national side, Vintcent is hopeful to be playing against his fellow countrymen.

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“It will be an amazing opportunity and challenge to play the No.1 side in the world,” Vintcent told @rugby365com.

“It’s always very special for me because they were the team I watched growing up.

“They were the team I watched every Saturday with a ball in my hands, with the dream of one day playing rugby professionally.

The 23-year-old admitted that he supported the Boks as a youngster, but had a bit of luck on his side to be able to play international rugby for his adopted country.

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“When I was very young, like any young South African supporter, when they watched the Boks, they dreamt of playing for them one day.

“As I grew up, I wasn’t necessarily the biggest age group player and that dream sort of faded.

“After playing Under-20s, the ambition wasn’t to continue [playing] rugby professionally.

“I wanted to get my studies [done] first. There was a bit of luck involved as I fell into the right pathway at Exeter.

“But it wasn’t the initial ambition when I finished with the U20s.”