The Lions No 9 scored two tries in the victory and was one of the better performers in a disappointing showing by the reigning world champions.
Veteran Springbok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk praised his younger positional counterpart Morné van den Berg after he earned “man-of-the-match” in just his third official Test for the Springboks.
The 27-year-old Lions star, known as “Krappie” to his friends, started in the Springboks’ 42–24 win over Italy at Loftus on Saturday, with De Klerk replacing him from the bench in the 54th minute.
Van den Berg lost the ball forward a couple of times early on, but more than made up for this as the game went on. He kicked well, fed quickly and tackled well.
More importantly, he scored two first-half tries, one coming from the back of a driving scrum that went over the try line, the other coming from a beautiful pick-up and dash between defenders, also from out of a scrum.
In a match the Springboks were expected to dominate (and players expressed their own frustration afterwards), his performance was one of the few silver linings for the hosts ahead of their second and final Test against the Italians at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Saturday.
‘What a privilege’
Van den Berg said it was special to score two tries in a winning cause.
“I’m glad we could do it,” he said. “It’s my first time playing here for the Boks. It’s something unbelievable, difficult to put into words.”
“The first try, I was just making sure the ball was staying in (the scrum), when it popped out we were basically over the try line. The second try, basically, the ref said use it. We always back our scrum, so I keep the ball in until the ref says use it.”
He said playing behind a dominant pack made his job easy.
“They are unbelievable. Those boys do their work. It’s a massive privilege to be right there. I’ve got the best view in the house for that. What a privilege.”
Faf commends Van den Berg’s willingness to grow
Noting the younger scrumhalf’s performance, 33-year-old De Klerk called Van den Berg a “fantastic player”.
“I’m really glad he is taking his opportunity,” the 59-capped double World Cup winner said.
“He’s doing really well for the Lions and showing his quality now. I think he’s a great guy. He wants to learn as much as he can. It’s always awesome to have that guy in the squad.”
