De Jongh: Nothing to prove to Boks
Juan de Jongh may have been out of the Springbok selection frame for the past two years, but he does not feel the need to 'prove a point'.
De Jongh, who played the last of his 14 Tests when he featured at outside centre for South Africa against England at Twickenham in November 2012, said he is happy to focus on captaining Western Province in the Currie Cup.
The 26-year-old will lead WP north, to Nelspruit and a tricky encounter with the Pumas, on Friday – a day before the Boks take on Australia at his favourite stomping ground – Newlands.
However, De Jongh said he would not be going out to "prove a point" at the Mbombela stadium on Friday – despite having been overlooked by Bok coach Heyneke Meyer for the past two years.
"My focus is on Western Province and it is important that my focus stays here, De Jongh told a media briefing at the team's training base in Cape Town.
"It would be nice to see how they [the Boks] perform this weekend, but for me it is about what happens Friday [in Nelspruit]."
There is good reason for the table-topping Province team to keep their collective eyes on the ball, as the Pumas are unbeaten in Nelspruit this season.
"It is always tough playing in Nelspruit, as they have won [all their games] at home"De Jongh said, adding: "It is important that we bring our A-game, because they would like to prove they can play Super Rugby and they have a few points to make."
De Jongh also felt that the home team will be "very physical".
"In the backline they have a player like Stefan Watermeyer that can hurt you if you are not on top of your game."
WP coach Allister Coetzee, who made one change for his team's tough assignment against the Pumas, explained that he expects returning Springbok Pat Cilliers to make a big impact in the set pieces.
"Pat [Cilliers] was a starter [starting prop for WP] at the beginning of the season and it was important that we worked on Pat and technical aspects [of his game]," Coetzee said at the same media briefing.
"The competition [in the WP team] is strong, with two experienced props [Cilliers and Brok Harris].
"They have both had opportunities to start.
"I am feeling comfortable with our plan for this weekend, where Brok [Harris] would cover both tighthead and loosehead [off the bench].
"It is not a position where you want to start a prop at tighthead and then after 40 minutes switch him to loosehead.
"Ali [Alistair Vermaak] has done well and will start as a [front row] combination with Pat [Cilliers].Brok will play the dual role when he comes off the bench.
