While much of the focus has been on players like Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Saturday’s test match will also welcome the next chapter for the most unheralded player in the Springbok squad currently - prop Gerhard Steenekamp.
The quiet bearded Vodacom Bulls player hasn’t made a splash of getting into the Bok squad, and his call-up last year ahead of the Rugby Championship may have surprised a number of people, but not the one man who stakes his life on the scrum - Daan Human.
So much so that when Rassie Erasmus was asked this week about Steenekamp, he immediately mentioned the moment that Human wanted to call up the young prop to the Bok squad.
“We all looked at Daan when he mentioned his name, because we had this list. I said Daan, who is your next prop in - because we had a lot of prop injuries. He said he has this Gerhard Steenekamp lightie - and I said no.
“He said pick any one of his games and I did, and he was scrummed about two feet shorter after the game. Daan said, no take another game. But he got him in and he has just been a pleasure to work with.
“I think all the guys are friends with him and he doesn’t talk a lot, he does his job, he has skills, he has power and he is fit. He does his job but he doesn’t want to look like one of the most impressive guys. He just wants to be one of the guys in the team and you’d never say he was the Springbok loosehead walking around, but he’s tough.”
ALMOST LOST TO THE GAME
But that is almost the story of Steenekamp. He isn’t flash, he isn’t the type of guy to crow about his own game. He quietly gets on with it, focused and determined.
And as he has risen across the ranks of the Bulls and the Boks, there is no doubt that he is backed to perform against the All Blacks scrum.
But it wasn’t always that way. After rising through the ranks as a No 8 at school at Potchefstroom Gimnasium, he made the switch to prop after school and immediately found success.
So much so that he was a clear choice for the SA under-20 squad in 2017 - a notable squad that contained a number of current stars such as Juarno Augustus, Curwin Bosch, Johan Grobbelaar, Stedman Gans, Manie Libbok, Gianni Lombard, Salmaan Moerat, Embrose Papier, Wandisile Simelane, Damian Willemse, Ruben van Heerden and Nama Xaba to name a few.
But then disaster struck. A bad knee injury hit him just as his career started to take off, and kept him out of rugby for almost two years.
It was so bad, and the recovery so slow, that the Bulls started to doubt whether he would make it onto the field again.
As former Bulls CEO Alfons Meyer remembers, it was touch and go whether they wanted to give him a contract again.
“His contract was expiring in October 2019, and we almost decided not to renew it. We really didn’t feel he was recovering fast enough. Eventually we offered him a basic contract, and the rest is history.
“A lot of credit must go to his agent Gert van der Merwe who convinced me that keeping him there will pay it back in the future. He was obviously a talented player, who runs like a No 8 and works hard but had bad luck with injuries.
“Personally it is great to see him playing so well now, and we’re looking forward to seeing him face the All Blacks on Saturday.”
HUMAN RATES HIM HIGHLY
Possibly the biggest compliment to Steenekamp’s rise comes from Human himself, the Bok scrum guru, who noticed him early in his career and even told then Bulls coach Pote Human to sign him for the team.
“To put it simply, Gerhard is a guy who got a chance to impress against Argentina away from home last year and he took his chance,” Human said.
“From there on, Kitsie (Steven Kitshoff) had an injury and Gerhard got another chance, and he uses every chance he gets. He basically played himself into the team. I can’t say it any other way, its the truth.
“There is no need to rush anyone back for any reason, Gerhard is playing well and he does what we ask of him. He’s a workhorse - and I can’t stress this enough - he worked his way into the team.
“I know him from the Bulls days but he worked his way in here. He didn’t talk his way into the team, he played his way in.”
Human said one thing that people underestimate of Steenekamp is his strength. Built compact and a “perfect shape” for a loosehead, according to Human, he often is underestimated by opponents.
“He is probably the player that I know that has the best, fastest hit in the scrum. If he hits in the scrum, it looks as if you shot an arrow out of a bow, he hits so straight. That back is straight, and that is how you generate power in a scrum.
“We obviously want him to dominate whenever he gets the chance. He has done it before and I believe he can do it again for us. I really believe in him.
“I enjoy him as a person as well. He isn’t flashy, but that’s what I like. He puts his head down and climbs in. He is a great team man. Jy kan met daai beeste boer (You can farm with those sort of cattle).”
PERFECT SHAPE FOR A LOOSEHEAD
His provincial coach Gary Gold believes Steenekamp has all the attributes to be a top international loosehead for years to come.
“In the modern game, Gerhard fits the bill perfectly as a loosehead,” Gold said. “Obviously his first role is the setpiece. He is a smart guy in the lineout as well and at scrum time he is solid. He is very strong, that goes without saying and his body shape is perfect for a loosehead. He is a tall guy, long legs and good reach and the attributes of a flanker. Around the park he has a high workrate and his efficiency is high as well.
“He gets himself in good positions, and doesn’t find himself in positions where he can be compromised as a loosehead.”
So when he gets onto the field - Gerrie - as he is affectionately known by his teammates, will have more than enough ammunition to do his job.
And at the same time achieve his lifetime goal of facing the All Blacks.
“It would be a massive honour to play against the All Blacks if I get the opportunity, especially being so new in the Springbok environment. And it’s certainly a chance I hope to grab with both hands,” he said this week ahead of the clash, knowing he has a baptism of fire to face.
“They have a good scrum and setpiece, and we’ll make sure we work hard and do our best up-front to counter the challenge they provide. It’s every young boy’s dream who plays rugby to face the All Blacks, so it would be special.”
NO MOTIVATION NEEDED
Asked if he needed any motivation for the clash, Steenekamp shrugged it off as just another game, and that the Green and Gold jersey would be the perfect motivation for what he needs to do.
“I don’t need more fire underneath me. For me it’s an honour to play alongside guys I’ve looked up to my entire life.
“Fortunately, I have the opportunity of training against some of the best props in the world on a weekly basis, and I try to learn more from them each day.”
And when he gets on the field, there will be more than just friends and family cheering him on. Knowing how close he came to being lost to the game, Steenekamp is hungry for every opportunity he gets. And with that in mind takes every chance he can.
Saturday will be no different.