Faf de Klerk’s rugby career has arguably already reached its peak but he is confident there is still much more to come as he returns to club rugby on Sunday.
The Sale scrum-half developed into the unlikely star of South Africa’s World Cup triumph in Japan, becoming the poster boy for Springboks rugby with his displays off the field as well as on, posing with the trophy wearing just a cap and a pair of briefs with the design of the South African flag.
His club’s Champions Cup home game with La Rochelle represents something of a reality check given the spectacular homecoming De Klerk and his teammates recently experienced, but the 28-year‑old believes this is just the start. “It won’t be difficult to readjust,” he says. “We’ve got goals here ourselves; we want to be a top-four side in all competitions. We want to win the Premiership. My focus shifts to that quite quickly.”
For De Klerk, who was exiled from the Springboks team when he moved to England and struggled to command a place in the national side until recently, the euphoria surrounding the World Cup was extra-special. Having witnessed first hand the scale of the celebrations back home, he is confident South African rugby can benefit for years to come. “It was amazing to see what it meant to everyone,” he says.
“People compared it to the 1995 World Cup win but in a sense this is almost bigger. So many of us came from humble beginnings and to get to this now it shows that it can give a lot of hope to a lot of youngsters, that you can come from poverty and make it. There’s a lot of negativity in South Africa right now and, if we can give them some joy, even for just a few weeks, that will be amazing.”
De Klerk has become an overnight sensation at home and in the UK. “I went for a coffee the other day and got some photos taken, hopefully I won’t get recognised too often, though,” he says with a laugh, although he will hope to stand out on Sunday for a side that lost their Pool Two opener 13-7 away to Glasgow last Saturday. “I’m back here now and hopefully I can add to the team, because that’s why I’m here. There are new goals for me here.”
They include one he knows is unattainable. “You can always improve as a player; there’s never a time when you can say anything is perfect. 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. Hopefully I can get even better for this club.”
