World Cup 'fever' grips Boks

By Josh Isaacson

Saturday 13 Jul 2019

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Springbok wing Aphiwe Dyantyi says he and his teammates cannot contain his excitement at the prospect of playing for South Africa at the World Cup later this year.

Representing two times World Cup Champions South Africa is no mean feat, as Dyantyi will be walking in the footsteps of legends such 2007 winner Bryan Habana - if he is, as widely expected, selected for the Bok team in the 2019 version.

The 24-year-old burst onto the scene after making his debut for the Lions during the 2018 Super Rugby campaign and he was selected to play for the Boks in the same year.

Dyantyi scored two tries against the All Blacks during the Springboks famous 36-34 victory in Wellington last year and is now a mainstay in the Lions set-up.

Dyantyi is currently training with the Boks in Pretoria in preparation for their opening Rugby Championship match against Australia in Johannesburg next Saturday (July 20) and New Zealand in Wellington on July 27.

The Boks open their 2019 World Cup campaign with a titanic clash against the three-time world champion All Blacks on in Yokohama on September 21.

However, the Boks still have five Tests to play before they begin their quest for glory in Japan.

"I don't think it gets any better than this for any professional player, to represent your country," Dyantyi said of the build-up to the Rugby Championship and World Cup.

"I think for everyone playing for the Springboks is such a great privilege and a great honour and the prospect of representing your country in the world cup that makes it more exciting for me so I'm just looking forward to that and I can rest assure you the rest of the guys are," added Dyantyi.

Dyantyi said the Springbok squad has been training at "high intensity" and they are putting in the hard yards to ensure the players make South Africa proud with their performances on the field.

"At our training sessions you would have seen the excitement and how focused the guys are.

"[We are] looking forward to this year's campaign and to playing.

"When the time comes, I trust we will make the country proud," Dyantyi added.