Johannesburg - Not many can work out why Warrick Gelant did not fill in for Kurt-Lee Arendse against the All Blacks at Ellis Park in the first place but now that he is in the team, he says he has a license to thrill against the Wallabies.
The hot-stepping Gelant will be on the right wing for Saturday’s match against the Wallabies in Adelaide, coming into the side after Jesse Kriel suffered a concussion early in the defeat to the New Zealanders, and he said from the South Australian city that he has the freedom to play his natural game.
The 27-year-old Gelant earned the nickname “Boogie” from his teammates at Tuks in the 2014 Varsity Cup and the name has settled well with him, especially this season in the United Rugby Championship where he danced through many an opposition defence.
Gelant’s army of fans will be delighted that he is back in the side after last starting in the second Test against Wales in Bloemfontein.
When Arendse was suspended after the first Test against the All Blacks, the natural replacement should have been Gelant, but coach Jacques Nienaber took the conservative route and picked the less imaginative Kriel.
“The Stormers and the Boks are different, yet I also don’t think too much of our freedom has been taken away, it’s just our roles that are different,” Gelant said when asked if he would play his natural game or simply chase kicks.
“I don’t think any one of our backs here are pressured into a box of not expressing themselves. Just the way we play, it’s working for us. We are tight knit when it comes to that.
“The coaches have told me to trust my instincts. It’s just the number on my back that’s changed, nothing else. That is what makes me excited for Saturday, I know how good the guys I’m playing with are and I am looking forward to the opportunity on the wing … to showcase myself in a different role and different responsibilities.”
Gelant had the good grace to smile with embarrassment in the online media conference when asked if on Saturday it will be a case of “beware of the boogeyman” for the Aussies.
“It’s the perfect opportunity for me to play this weekend. But there’s a new guy, Lukhanyo Am, who has adopted the name Boogeyman, so luckily that pressure’s off me,” he grinned.
There is no player in this Bok squad that has ever played a rugby game in Adelaide and with the Boks being out of Super Rugby since the lockdown of 2020, many of the Wallaby players are something of a mystery to the South Africans.
“The Wallabies are going to pose a different threat and what I think makes it difficult is that we haven’t played Australian sides in Super Rugby the last few years,” he said. “We haven’t experienced how the Australians have been playing this season.
“But we can control what we are going to do on Saturday and we feel we have been gelling as a backline and are really looking forward to giving it a go.”
The match kicks off in the early afternoon in Adelaide and thus it will be an early morning game for South Africans (7.30am).
IOL Sport