Elton Jantjies relishing facing the unexpected

When coach Jacques Nienaber revealed Elton Jantjies as the fly-half for the match against Scotland on Saturday, he specifically told the 31-year-old to play to his strengths.

For Jantjies, who starred in a Lions team often known for high-paced running rugby, that’s not always been the aerial assault currently favoured by his national coaching staff.

But up against Scotland’s own slightly maverick fly-half in Finn Russell, perhaps there’s an element of seeking to pit like against like. He’s certainly ready to deal with whatever Russell can bring, be it Russell’s running or kicking game.

It’s about the team

“I know it sounds like a cliché, but I’ve always said it – it’s not about me as an individual… it’s just about the team,” said Jantjies.

“The responsibility is on me now to lead the boys in terms of certain aspects of the game, and make sure that we execute the things that we’ve been working on as a group, and making sure we are aligned in that.

“So, that’s my responsibility. It’s just about us focusing on Scotland, and not focus too much on the past, as there are different challenges.

“Damian (de Allende) spoke about it just now after training… The way we play, it works for us as a group. It covers everything, if you look in detail. But I can’t elaborate a lot about it.

“For us as a group, every single one, there is a big emphasis for us in looking for opportunities as well, and when the opportunity is there – maybe one out of four – we should take them and to back ourselves to use it, because that’s part of us as a group.

“So, hopefully on Saturday, the way we play, if we get a few opportunities, we must be aware of it and take those opportunities.”

Russell drily joked about how the Australians had kicked far more than expected last weekend and how it had unsettled him, and how he thought that it might be a good idea to bring the same sort of surprise to South Africa. Jantjies was not moved by the mind games, saying only that he and his team-mates are prepared.

“It’s a difficult question you are asking me… We will see on Saturday what they are going to bring out. We will see in the first 10 or 15 minutes, the way they will want to play against us, and hopefully we can find solutions,” he replied.

“We’ve all seen what he was capable of in that last Test against the British and Irish Lions. I really thought he made a big difference, and he challenged our group in a different way.

“We’ve got a little bit of experience of that, and for us, it’s just about focusing on our systems and working together as a group, and making sure that we stop whatever he’s throwing at us.

“This Scotland team has beaten Australia as well as France away. They have different players and a different energy and they work very hard for each other.

“They will be highly motivated to play the world champions and they have a strong set-piece to back up the way the backs want to play. They pride themselves on their scrums and line-outs, so that is a challenge for our guys up front.”