Talented forward dating Rassie’s daughter set for Springbok debut

Andre-Hugo Venter, who is dating Rassie Erasmus’ daughter, is expected to make his Springbok debut this Saturday.

Talented forward dating Rassie’s daughter set for Springbok debut

As Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus prepares to expose more players to Test rugby, there are several debuts to expect against Portugal, including Andre-Hugo Venter.

The selection of Venter in the Springbok squad has presented a rather unusual scenario as the 22-year-old happens to be dating Erasmus’ daughter Nikkie.

However, there can be no doubt that the talented youngster is fully deserving of his place in the squad, with the talented hooker having enjoyed a standout season for the Stormers, while he in fact ended the URC season ranked 34th on the URC Top 100 player rankings.

The abrasive forward has rugby genes in his blood, with his dad Andre Venter having enjoyed an illustrious Springbok career, and the young forward is now set to walk in the footsteps of his father to earn a Test debut.

Venter is expected to be named on the bench for this weekend’s one-off Test against Portugal, which will present a special moment when he is likely to come on for his first international appearance in the second half in Bloemfontein.

Bulls hooker Johan Grobbelaar should also make his long-awaited Test debut, while uncapped Phepsi Buthelezi and Mpilo Gumede could feature at No 8. Meanwhile, among the back, Morne van den Berg is expected to earn inclusion in the matchday 23 to provide scrumhalf back up to Cobus Reinach.

Andre-Hugo Venter forms part of a talented Springbok squad for Portugal clash

Props: Ntuthuko Mchunu, Ox Nche, Gerhard Steenekamp, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Frans Malherbe, Vincent Koch, Trevor Nyakane, Thomas du Toit.
Hookers: Bongi Mbonambi, Malcolm Marx , Johan Grobbelaar, Andre-Hugo Venter.
Locks: Eben Etzebeth, Salmaan Moerat, RG Snyman.
Loose forwards: Siya Kolisi, Elrigh Louw, Marco van Staden, Phepsi Buthelezi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Ben-Jason Dixon, Evan Roos, Ruan Venter, Kwagga Smith, Jasper Wiese.
Scrumhalves: Faf de Klerk, Grant Williams, Cobus Reinach, Morne van den Berg.
Flyhalves: Handre Pollard, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Manie Libbok.
Centres: Lukhanyo Am, Andre Esterhuizen, Jesse Kriel.
Outside backs: Kurt-Lee Arendse, Cheslin Kolbe, Willie le Roux, Makazole Mapimpi, Aphelele Fassi, Quan Horn.

Back to basics

Meanwhile, assistant coach Deon Davids emphasised the importance of the team returning to their high standard of play when they line up against Portugal.

They may be facing a tier-two nation in Portugal, but Davids said the team goals came first, and that they were determined to bounce back strongly from last week’s defeat and to build on their standards.

“As a team we pride ourselves on the standards we’ve set, and for our respect for the opposition, no matter which team we face,” said Davids.

“Having looked back at our performance last week, we need to be more focused going into this game and play the quality of rugby we want to play.”

Davids expected Portugal to come out firing in what he described as one of the biggest Tests in their history.

“Portugal beat Fiji in the World Cup, so they are no pushovers,” said Davids.

“They like to move the ball around a lot and their head coach [Simon Mannix] has a New Zealand background, which says a lot about the way they want to play, so it will be important to keep them at bay, to dominate on attack and defence, and deny them momentum. We want to play the match on our terms.”