VIDEO: No regrets for one-cap Bok
One-cap Springbok Jordan Hendrikse may be watching on television when South Africa, the World Cup champions, start their Rugby Championship campaign Down Under.
The Boks face the Wallabies in Brisbane on August 10 and in Perth a week later.
While Hendrikse was not named in the touring squad, he will tap into the dogged determination that earned him his first call-up against Wales to get more caps.
The former South African Schools and Junior Bok said he was “surprised” when the call came for him to join the alignment camps earlier this year.
“I never expected to be starting against Wales,” he said of his debut at Twickenham on June 22.
It was just reward for his hard work over three seasons at the Lions.
“The biggest thing was to take charge of [use] my opportunity,” he told @rugby365com.
Not being the most talkative flyhalf, the 23-year-old had to evolve and “speak like a No.10” – communicate with his teammates.
He said it was an “unreal” feeling to get that call-up and make his debut for his country.
Hendrikse admitted that there are some lingering questions.
Would a more conservative game have earned him a second cap?
That question, for the time being, will remain unanswered – as he was not named in the 33-man Springbok squad for the Australian leg of the Rugby Championship.
(WATCH as one-cap Springbok Jordan Hendrikse sits down for Part Three of his one-on-one with @king365ed – talking about wanting another shot at the Test arena….)
“For me, the most important thing was to express myself and not to hold back,” he told @rugby365com.
“The coaches trusted me to make the right decisions.
“With time, those errors will become less and less.
“I just did not want to have any regrets when I walked off the field.
“There’s certainly no regrets in terms of the style and the way I played.”
He admitted there were some ‘errors’ on debut, but minimising errors at Test level is something he is aware of and working on.
“It was just surreal playing in front of 70, 000 people and singing your national anthem.
“It’s a dream come true playing for my country.”
Now he will be working on getting that call-up more consistently.
The No.10 said he knows he has to ‘manage’ the game a bit better.
“We got the result we wanted,” he said of the 41-13 win, adding: “It may have been a younger [Springbok] side, but no player should make three or four errors in a game.
“You won’t always have a perfect game, but you should minimize your errors.
“In Tests that will cost you dearly.
“The error rate was a bit high, but there were no other problems.”
@king365ed
@rugby365com
Jordan Hendrikse interview Part One
Jordan Hendrikse interview Part Two
