Ruan Pienaar is determined to keep hold of the Springbok number nine jersey for an extended spell of time.
Pienaar has taken his chance well in the green and gold and started the last three games for his country, moving his international caps up to 59.
And the Ulster scrum-half, who is looking very comfortable in the spot, is eager to make the most of his time at the base for South Africa.
"I've competed against some good nines in South Africa in the past and it is great for me to get an opportunity now," Pienaar said on Wednesday.
"I've really enjoyed the three Tests that I started now and hopefully I can continue in that vein and try to play as well as possible and be in contention for that jersey for the next couple of years if possible."
Pienaar took over from Francois Hougaard - who shifted to wing - and the 28-year-old is relishing the responsibilities, not least off the tee.
"I take the responsibility and it is something I enjoy, obviously it didn't go as well as I'd liked to on Saturday," he said.
"But I haven't kicked in that pressure situation since my season ended back at Ulster in the Heineken Cup.
"So I need to get back in again and take the responsibility and hopefully do it well as possible.
"I've had a good season with the boot in the Northern Hemisphere and I'd like to continue in that way but I still need to train hard and tweak a couple of things here and there."
He added: "We need to take our opportunities, it was something we lacked in New Zealand where we created two or three opportunities and didn't finish it.
"In Test match rugby you only get two or three opportunities, especially against the All Blacks, so it is about being accurate, being patient and playing the right area.
"The games on tour, I thought we created a lot of opportunities that could have put us in a winning situation but we made one or two errors and that probably cost us the game."
Comments
logophile says...
The Tahs wasted Pretorious's talent. He was magnificent with the Cheetahs the year before, led the S15 in a number of stats. He seems like the best long-term choice, he just needs to get back into heavy competition to gain his footing and confidence.
Question: Why is Basson never called up? He also led the league in tries a few times. He's a good finisher. I don't really understand that.
I think Kirshner has redeemed himself of late, he's done pretty well I thnk. That said, I also enjoy watching Aplon play. Something about a small guy like him or Shane Williams excelling in rugby warms my heart. He has a lot of heart.
Posted 23:38 10th October 2012
melkdave says...
I cant really see R.Pineer keeping the #9 jersey for to long,This time next year i expect S.Pretorious to be pushing him hard for it .F.Hougaard imo,has blown his chance at SH,tatical kicking poor and slow delivery,though playing with the limited M.Styen didnt help his cause.A halfback combination of Pretorious and Goosen does look very good for the future ,but not right now.imo.Allow Goosen to find his feet at international leval1st ,which R.Pineer looks very good at allowing him to do by taking alot of the presure off him.
Posted 12:44 06th October 2012
passtheball says...
Shouldn't it be "Ruin Ready" as the PR headline not "Ruan Ready"?
Posted 02:56 06th October 2012
hellovanite says...
Benski... don't listen to willem you are right and he will see this weekend. As for NSW's season well if the coach had any clues he would have played Pretorious more instead of that other shit house halfback Brendan "who the f**k are you" Mckibbin. Pretorious would be a better option for cleaner faster delivery of the pill. This is what I would like to see. Pretorious at half (you need quicker delivery from your half) De Jong at Centre and Jaco Taute on wing (no more halfbacks on the wing at this level, I mean come on!)Aplon at fullback (or at least bring him on at the 60min mark, why not? how many times has this guy ripped defences to shreds when coming on for the Stormers) I'm glad Janjtes is getting a look outside of Goosen he is the best running half you have by a country mile, but no one seems to rate him which puzzles me. Some of these guys just need the right environment and a coach who has the guts to implement a game plan that involves their style of play. As I have said before what SA does best will be determined by who the coach picks. SA has the backs to match NZ in return kick broken play and the forwards that can play dynamic phase ball. If you want tries off first phase you need a quick halfback (not one that thinks he¿s a flyhalf) with a good understanding with his fly half who takes the ball to the line in both hands. This will be Goosen and Pretorious, if you get this going now imagine what confidence the cheetahs will bring to the S15 next year. Besides this when you tour the NH this year the rules around the rucks will require a decisive half. I hope Pretorious makes it on the end of year tour. Look I am a true blue Kiwi and as such an ABs fan, but I hate to see talent wasted and I for one would not enjoy seeing that Boks get pasted (not that I expect that to happen). I am happy when I'm nervous about the opposition especially when it's SA
Posted 21:24 05th October 2012
Willem says...
@ benski
Yes, you are right. Sarel had a brilliant S15. So brilliant he got dropped from a Waratah side. Ruan is by far the best nine in SA. Sarel will not be able to take pressure of his young flyhalf (Goosen) within the 22, whilst Ruan did this brilliantly last week.
Well done Ruan, I hope you can can continue with your current form for a long time to come and get even better.
Posted 10:34 05th October 2012
benski says...
NO... Please, he's not too bad but not a patch on Saral Pretorious, kicks away far too much ball and often looses the ball at rucks because he faffs around far too long behind the packs.
Posted 11:47 04th October 2012