Herschel Jantjies will start in the scrum for the Springboks on Sunday, in Perth, against the Wallabies. This marks his first international starting position since 2021. After three years away from the team, the former Stormers scrum-half is eager to seize his opportunity by drawing inspiration from one of his direct competitors. The door reopened in July in Durban, when Jantjies regained the green and gold jersey for the first time in three years during a match against Wales in the Nations Championship. Entering the game in the second half, he scored one of the seven South African tries that night. Now, he is in the starting XV, with a chance to show what he has learned since. "I was out of the game for about three years," he summarizes via SA Rugby Mag. Although he has played little in recent times, Jantjies has not been inactive. He spent much of the international season on the sidelines, observing and listening. He mentions the work with coaches Tony Brown and Jerry Flannery, as well as with Felix Jones, whom he already knew. "There have been many lessons, seeing how they read the game and how they want to play," he explains. Training sessions and team meetings served as a school during the weeks without playing time. His real benchmark has a nickname: Krappie. Morné van den Berg, another scrum-half in the squad, impressed during the last test against New Zealand in Baltimore. Entering the game, he delivered, according to Jantjies, "an incredible performance." Here is what Jantjies wants to reproduce. "I would like to think that I can enter this weekend and seize the opportunity in the same way," he confides. He is therefore directly inspired by a rival for the same number. Jantjies also refuses to see this competition as a source of tension. "The competition for the number 9 position in the team is incredible. We help each other when we can," he assures. In short, the scrum-half sees this battle for the jersey as a motivator rather than a hindrance. On Sunday in Perth, he will have the opportunity to show that his three years of waiting have not dulled him at all.