GOING UP: Antonie Claassen, playing for Brive, grabs the ball away from Stade Francais opponent Juan-Manuel Leguizamon in Paris during a French Top 14 match

Little-known in France when he arrived in 2007, Claassen, 25, has produced impressive performances with Brive week in and week out. So good have they been that just before the November Tests, French coach Marc Lievremont said he could pick Claassen for Les Bleus when he becomes eligible in October next year.

"He corresponds to what I'm looking for in the back row," Lievremont told French sports newspaper L'Equipe.

Agile, fast and powerful, 1.93m tall and weighing 107kg, he is widely regarded as one of the leading back-row players in French Top 14 rugby.

But that comes as no surprise given his background - his grandfather George won the Comrades in 1961 and his father Wynand won five Currie Cups with Northern Transvaal and captained the Springboks during the traumatic Bok tour of New Zealand in 1981. When Antonie started playing rugby he was weighed down by a heavy legacy.

"When your father was a Springbok, people think you are like him. But in reality it doesn't come naturally. Fortunately, he never put pressure on me."

In 2003, Claassen was in the South African under-19 side that won the World Championship in Paris. He captained the Blue Bulls side that clinched the national under-21 competition in 2005 and seemed well-equipped to embrace his father's destiny. But a serious back injury stopped his progress and he did not play in 2006. While his former teammates started getting their names in the newspapers, he had to content himself with playing for the University of Pretoria before trying his luck in France.

Wynand, who played for French side Marmande in the 1977/1978 season, used his contacts to get his son a contract with Brive, where his outstanding physical qualities and charisma quickly made him a standout player. Since last year, he has been one of the club's co-captains.

Prop Pascal Idedier says: "He is a model for everyone. He's the best for the fitness tests, the best at the press and the best during games."

Now playing the rugby of his life, Claassen hopes to get called up by his adopted homeland, just like prop Pieter de Villiers and centre Brian Liebenberg before him. Two other South Africans, Eric Melville and Dries van Heerden, have also been selected for France.

"I know I'm South African, but I also feel French. During the last Test in Toulouse, I pretty much wanted France to win. My goal is to get on the French team. I dream of playing in the next World Cup for Les Bleus. I'm really flattered that Lievremont spoke about me.

"But I know it won't happen by itself. The French are proud of their culture and their history. To be selected I have to be three times better than my French opponents. I have to prove I am the best."