Meyer confident in De Jager
“He is a typical South African lock in that he is hard": Meyer.
Springbok head coach Heyneke Meyer is confident Loop de Jager will do well for his national side after he was called up to the Boks’ 23-man match squad for the Wales test.
The Boks will take on the Welsh on Saturday in Durban in their second match of the Castle Lager Series and there have been several changes to the Meyer’s squad that turned out against the World XV.
De Jager was one of the eight changes made from the team that turned out against Nick Mallett’s side and there has been a lot of talk surrounding the 21-year-old 2.0 metre tall lock.
“Lood was very pleased to hear he would get a chance to play for the Boks and he has really grown a lot as a player in the last while,” said Meyer after announcing the Free Stater to his squad.
“He is a typical South African lock in that he is hard and robust and also a great ball carrier. He is a clever guy too, and earned three distinctions in his matric year. He is willing to learn and I expect great things from him.”
The youngster expressed his delight in becoming one of the new caps in the squad and he said he was looking forward to learning under the experience of Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha.
“You don’t get better guys to learn from as a lock than Victor and Bakkies. It will be a big step up for him, but I have confidence in his ability. And it was great to see his face when I told him he would be in the match day squad,” concluded Meyer.
