For a man who is about to captain the Springboks in a Test match for the first time‚ 29-year old Lions No 8 Warren Whiteley does appear to be overawed by the enormity of the occasion.
On his broad shoulders lie the expectations of a nation longing for success after the Springboks slumped to the unimaginable lows of winning only four of their twelve matches last season.
This week‚ as the Springboks went about their preparations for the first of three Tests against France at Loftus in Pretoria on Saturday‚ Whiteley appeared calm and calculated.
At his captain’s press conference on Friday morning‚ Whiteley said he was not feeling the pressure.
He said he was rather grateful for the ‘massive opportunity’ to lead this predominantly young team that is in transition after the disaster of last season.
“As a player you visualize a lot about coming matches‚" he said.
"I haven’t thought much about this being my first Test as captain.
"For me‚ it feels like the norm‚ when I go out to the field I will know exactly what I have to do.
"There are not too many emotions at the moment but I would say excitement‚ focus .......... We are really looking forward to it more than anything.
"It has been a fantastic and busy week on and off the field.
"I am really grateful for the opportunity and looking forward to it more than anything.
“I will know how to react to situations that come my way during the match.
"It doesn’t feel intimidating to me like this is a massive new thing.
"I am comfortable‚ excited and looking forward to it.”
The Springboks spent last week in a camp in Plettenberg Bay before moving to Pretoria to wrap up their preparations.
Whiteley said they focused on establishing a team culture.
“Each team has its own culture which must be created by the collective and it is a lot more effective in that way because the team decides how we want to form this culture.
"That was really important for us in Plettemberg Bay where we spoke openly about it and everyone had a chance to say what they felt was important.
“We do have a leadership group‚ we decided on a number of things that need to happen in the future.
"What is important for us are the values that we want to take forward‚ certain traditions that we want to keep and that was spoken about extensively and openly which was important.
"There are various things that have been part of being a Springbok which have gone on for years.
"It won’t be appropriate to speak about some because we want to keep them within the set-up.
"It is about establishing brotherhood‚ become a family and embrace one another as individuals.
"We are a diverse group and it has been fantastic."
Talking about the French‚ the skipper said they are not expecting them to move away from their physical culture that has seen them perform admirably in Six Nations.
“We have looked at them extensively.
"We know that they have a number of key players in their team and they won’t veer away from their culture.
"They are a physical team and they have one of the best set-pieces in the world at the moment.
"They play nice and direct and they also have good outside backs.
"They are extremely dangerous‚ willing to try the odd risk and we must expect the unexpected.”
- TMG Digital/TMG Sport
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