Franco Mostert unmoved by South African opposition

South Africa’s lock-turned-blindside flanker Franco Mostert is not going to let the presence of a number of his compatriots in Scottish blue on Saturday faze him.

Duhan van der Merwe and Pierre Schoeman are likely to start for Scotland, while Kyle Steyn and Oli Kebble both impressed from the bench against Australia and could also make the side.

But Mostert remains focused on playing whatever is in front of him, with the persons in the jerseys only of relevance after the game – whatever language they speak.

Just competitors

“From a personal perspective, these guys are merely players I compete against,” said Mostert at Tuesday’s team announcement.

“All of them are excellent rugby players and made their marks in South Africa, which probably allowed them to come play overseas. We’ve all seen how they’ve done here. They’ll be keen to get an opportunity to play well and for us it’s just about having a lekker jol against them.”

It’s not just the South African connection, it is the Afrikaans connection which could also pose a problem for Mostert and the rest of the bomb squad.

Is there any concern that the spies among the Scots will be able to decipher the calls, codes and even occasional curses which may heat the airwaves?

“Of course, you know these guys understand Afrikaans very well and they’re still our proverbial blood. But it still makes no difference, I don’t believe there’s some extra emotion involved,” continued Mostert.

“I don’t believe it will be an issue in any way. We’ll still make our calls and pre-calls. It won’t matter.”