Words matter. These are the best Faf de Klerk Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
A multi-racial team with a black captain means a lot to the country. There will always be negative political parties in South Africa, but hopefully it’s something to take forwards.
You can have size but to be physical is a different story.
Growing up at school I played a lot of fly-half and a lot of scrum-half, I thought I had a good boot but never really used it as much as I do now.
When I joined Sale I thought that if I did well there I would have a chance of making the World Cup squad. What I did not expect was how quickly I got back into the frame.
At Sale we’re an up and coming club, wanting to draw bigger crowds. You can’t just run everything, though, you need a balance.
I’ve always had lots of energy; it’s just been about channelling it in the right way. I know I can be annoying, but that’s just my way and hopefully more people than not like my personality.
You need to adapt your game for what the team needs.
One of my goals is to become the perfect player but you’ll never reach that goal if your mindset is not right, I think.
The popularity of rugby definitely grew in South Africa over the World Cup, and sport has great power, so hopefully it will make some difference. Even if it’s just 1%, it’s a bit of a change.
I just always play in a South African speedo when I play for the Springboks.
I play to inspire people and give confidence to young kids who might shy away because of their size.
We all say we enjoy playing rugby, but most guys don’t really show it – and some guys I don’t think actually enjoy it. So every time I arrive in the morning, I’ve always got a smile on my face. Once I lose that enjoyment, I will stop playing.
It’s good if people see me as a running nine but I wanted to be viewed as an all-round scrum-half, who can do anything at any time.
It is not just willy-nilly running around. I need to fill certain spaces and make sure we are covered on both sides of the ruck and the numbers are right.
