Why Francois Louw says Bok newcomer Herschel Jantjies looks the part

Springbok loose-forward Francois Louw says Herschel Jantjies looked the part in his first Test against Australia at Emirates Airline Park on Saturday.

The nippy Jantjies‚ who excelled in all the basics in the 35-17 win‚ also scored two tries as South Africa claimed a crucial bonus-point win in the Rugby Championship opener.

“It was a huge occasion for him.

"We had a three-week pre-season camp and he was in the mix.

"He was nervous as it was his first time among the boys and for him to play his first game like he played was phenomenal‚” Louw said.

“I don’t doubt the fact that he’s got a bright future ahead of him. I hope to see more of him in the number nine jersey in the future.”

While there were experienced campaigners in the side like Louw‚ locks Eben Etzebeth and Lood de Jager and prop Tendai Mtawarira‚ the SA side had an experimental look to it.

Australia spurned two try-scoring opportunities in the first half through a forward pass and a knock-on that could have changed the complexion of the game.

Louw recognised that the game could have gone either way‚ but they fought harder for the win

“I think it’s the resilience because at one point we were trailing‚ but we scored those tries and kept pushing all the way to the end.

"We had a few opportunities to go for goal‚ and even though we had a decent lead‚ we still opted to go for the try‚” Louw said.

“Australia came out‚ fought hard and had some big ball carriers.

"They selected a different team to what we expected. They had some big ball carriers in the midfield but at the end of the day‚ it was a good match-up.”

Louw‚ who traveled to New Zealand‚ said they would need to be better for Saturday’s game against the All Blacks at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better start but in saying that‚ there’s a lot of hard work that needs to be done.

"I do think we had opportunities to shut them down.

"We’ll look and work on that to tighten up our game‚” Louw said.

“The All Blacks will pose a different threat and the boys who’ll be facing them on the weekend will be prepared for that.”