Cape Town - Clayton Blommetjies famously said in 2018 that he was giving up on his Springbok dream after he felt he was unfairly overlooked by then-national coach Allister Coetzee.
In an interview with the Wales Online website ahead of a move to the Scarlets at the time, the fullback said: “I don’t even think about wearing the green and gold anymore because I never had an opportunity to do it.
“Last year in Super Rugby, I was playing the best rugby of my career and the coach Franco Smith told me ‘You are good enough to become a Springbok at the end of the year’.
“But Allister picked players ahead of me not because of how they played throughout the year, but because they were his favourites. Players like Elton Jantjies were selected because he knew them.
“After that, I thought I’m not going to fight for the green and gold anymore. I want to go overseas, and when my agent told me he had an offer from the Scarlets, I said yes immediately.”
But four years is a long time in rugby, and now that he is excelling for the Stormers, he feels a bit differently about the Boks ahead of Friday’s URC clash against the self-same Scarlets at Cape Town Stadium (7pm kickoff).
“That is everyone’s dream, to wear the green and gold. I made the mistake of saying things about that when I was younger, but the older you get, the wiser you become. You pick up experience everywhere you go, and it is all about improving your game,” the 32-year-old No 15 said this week.
“If you do that well, then the chances are good that I could wear the green and gold. I am very happy for Manie (Libbok). He is one of my big friends here at the Stormers, and we have that connection of working together as the 10 and 15, and to help the team on the day.”
The former Cheetahs star had to fill the considerable boots of Warrick Gelant, who joined Racing 92 in France, following last season’s title-winning campaign, and he has done so with aplomb.
The Stormers are still able to play the free-flowing attacking rugby with Blommetjies in the No 15 jersey.
“To be honest, this is home. Everything started here – not at the Stormers, but Boland. We are used to throwing the ball around and there isn’t a lot of kicking. Many of the guys have made me feel welcome, and so far, everything has gone well,” he said.
“Warrick and I are different players. Many people said he left a hole here, but until today, I don’t think that hole is big – it is getting smaller. I try to do my best and improve in every game, and to keep the coaches happy by doing my job there at the back.”
Blommetjies has a fair idea of what to expect from the Scarlets, and could form a lethal back-three combination with returning SA A wings Leolin Zas and Suleiman Hartzenberg on Friday.
“When they get the ball, they’ve got dangerous players like Gareth Davies the scrumhalf, and then you’ve got the 13, Jonathan Davies. They’ve got a few internationals there, so we can look forward to some surprises with their plays. But we started to sort out everything in defence for Friday,” he said.
“We know that there will be a lot of contestables and long kicks this weekend, so we as players will go out there to enjoy ourselves and carry out what we’ve worked on in training.”
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