Jean-Luc du Preez played 13 Tests for the Boks between 2016 and 2018, and only one since then, while this will be his first start since 2018.
Powerhouse Springbok loose forward Jean-Luc du Preez is fired up for his first Test start in seven years, after he was picked at eighthman for the second Rugby Championship game against the Wallabies in Cape Town on Saturday.
Du Preez has endured a difficult nine year career for the Boks, largely on the fringes, with him in and out of various squads over the years, but unable to nail down a regular spot in the team.
He played the majority of his 14 Tests in 2017, when he featured 10 times for the Boks, while his last start came against England at Ellis Park in 2018, and by the end of that year he had 13 Test caps.
One Test since
Since then he has only played one official Test for the Boks, in 2023 against Argentina, although he did start for them in the non-Test against the Barbarians in Cape Town at the end of June.
With the current injury situation in the Bok team, Du Preez has a fantastic chance to try and establish himself in the group, and he is going to give it everything he has, having endured a long road to get back into the starting mix.
“It’s actually my first Test start in seven years, so that speaks for itself. I would just like to do my best for the team and get us on the front foot. Hopefully we can do a good job on Saturday,” said Du Preez.
“Your mind is a powerful thing. There were times that I was thinking ‘should I just give up on the Springboks?’”
“But I would never be able to do that. It’s taken quite a while for me to start again. You can never take this for granted, because when you get your shot, you need to make it count.”
High pressure game
It is a high pressure game for the whole Springbok team, after their shock loss against the Wallabies at Ellis Park over the past weekend, and a win is vital for them to keep their Rugby Championship hopes alive, ahead of a tough two game tour to New Zealand.
With that tour looming it will likely add pressure on Du Preez to put in a strong showing, as a big performance could secure his place in the squad for those matches and possibly even earn him a start at Eden Park, if captain Siya Kolisi doesn’t recover in time, while Jasper Wiese is still banned.
He admits his start against the Barbarians does give him a bit of confidence and he will look to take that into the Aussie match.
“I wouldn’t say I would start against New Zealand, because we probably have players coming back. But I don’t want to look too far ahead. As I have already said, this is my first Test start in seven years, so for me it’s all about this Saturday and that is all that’s on my mind,” claimed Du Prez.
“Getting that run (against the Barbarians) does help my confidence a little bit, although it has been almost two months since then, so a lot has changed. But I’m just so thankful for the opportunity to get a run and represent my country again.”
