Jaco van der Walt relishing Morne Steyn duel

Planet Rugby

Jaco Van Der Walt of Edinburgh in action with the ball during the Guinness PRO14 rugby match between Munster Rugby and Edinburgh Rugby at Thomond Park in Limerick, Ireland on October 10, 2020 (Photo by Andrew SURMA / SIPA USA)

Edinburgh fly-half Jaco van der Walt is looking forward to taking on his fellow South African pivot Morne Steyn when they face the Bulls on Saturday.

Steyn has returned to the franchise following his heroics for the Springboks, where he kicked the winning penalty in their series victory over the British and Irish Lions.

The Pretoria outfit were disappointed to lose Johan Goosen to injury earlier this week, but the 37-year-old is a more than able replacement.

And Van der Walt, who grew up watching the South African star for the national team, is excited about sharing a pitch with him.

A legend of South African rugby

The 27-year-old said: “I was very young when he started playing. He’s a big legend in South African rugby. He’s been good for South African rugby so it will be good to play against him if he plays. It’s exciting.”

Van der Walt, who joined Edinburgh from the Lions in 2017 and is now a Scotland international, is expecting another tough test against South African opposition after last weekend’s 20-20 draw at home to the Stormers. Bulls, meanwhile, picked up an impressive win away in Cardiff.

He said: “You can’t underestimate South African teams. They’re physical and they play good running rugby. All the South African teams definitely looked better last weekend.

“We can’t underestimate the Bulls. They’ll bring a different style of play to Stormers but they’re a physical team as well with a bunch of big boys.”

Van der Walt set up both of Edinburgh’s tries as they roared into a 14-0 lead after just six minutes against the Stormers last weekend, but he admits they must find a way to maintain such standards for longer.

He said: “I loved that first 10 minutes. We just need an 80-minute performance like that now – that’s the challenge for this weekend.

“Every number 10 likes to play running rugby. It’s always nice to get a line-break or two, and if the team scores a try from it, it makes it so much sweeter.

“It was only my second game of the season. There’s still a long season ahead so I just want to try and keep that form and serve the team. It will be difficult to maintain that form but my confidence is high.”