JP Pietersen keeps hopes of a call-up to Allister Coetzee's Springbok squad alive

28 June 2016 - 19:15 By Khanyiso Tshwaku

Sharks winger JP Pietersen may be off to the Leicester Tigers at the end of the current Super Rugby campaign.However‚ he hopes to be part of any Springbok squads Allister Coetzee picks in future.The Bok mentor has already shown his hand with foreign-based players‚ having only picked three in the squad that bravely saw off the Irish tourists.With two of the three overseas-based in Duane Vermeulen and Francois Louw not quite rolling back the clock to the time when they were at the Stormers‚ it means Coetzee could be putting a high performance premium on overseas-based Boks.The Rugby Championship is about seven weeks away and Coetzee is not likely to move too far from the original group he selected‚ even though plenty of senior players went missing.“I still think my fire for the Springboks is still there and I still want to contribute to Springbok rugby. If Allister Coetzee gives me the call and asks me to play for him‚ I won't turn down the call."I'm only 29 and it's like people think I'm 40 with the way you guys are asking but only time will tell. If I'm not good enough and I'm told that‚ then I'll make peace with that. At this point in time‚ I have the fire to play for the Boks‚” Pietersen chuckled.Whether Pietersen will play three‚ if not four more matches for the Sharks will be determined by how they fare at Ellis Park on Saturday afternoon when they face the red-hot Lions. They are a team high on flair and confidence.“I'm also not thinking too far ahead in terms of the Sharks and my focus is on the Lions.I know that I'm leaving soon and I need to enjoy every moment that I have with the boys and just have fun.”Judging by the individual contribution made by Lions players to what looked to be a lost cause in the second test against Ireland and the stirring defensive effort during Saturday's 19-13 win‚ they still have plenty in the tank.They are top of the South African group with 42 points from 12 matches while the Sharks (35) are engaged in an engrossing contest with the Bulls (32) and the Stormers (36) for the wildcard spotHow the Lions will cope without captain Warren Whiteley remains to be seen with the no8 set to miss the rest of the campaign with a shoulder injury.The Sharks are set to miss out on Pat Lambie's services because of the concussion he sustained in the first test against Ireland.Having spent a fair amount of time with the Lions players during their Bok period‚ Pietersen said he knows how they think. How they will play will be a different story altogether.“You could see how full of confidence the Lions players were when we were together. All of their players are on form‚ which makes it easier for their coaches to pick players‚ execute their game plan and play well as a team. Whatever we need to do as a team‚ we need to do it better and also make sure we play in the right areas of the field."If we can also convert our chance‚ then we may have a chance. They're the in-form team and we're the underdogs‚” Pietersen said. ..

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