New man of steel: Ou Bok ‘Iron Man’ Venter’s son Andre-Hugo not feeling pressure
Son of legendary Springbok iron man Andre, Stormers hooker Andre-Hugo says there’s no pressure carrying the Venter name as he gets reg to tackle the Bulls and his first Springbok camp.
The 22-year-old is set to play a big role in the North-South derby in the United Rugby Championship at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday in Pretoria.
It comes on the back of his inclusion as one of 11 uncapped players in the 43-man Bok gathering in Cape Town next week, a reward for his klas form for the Stormers so far this season.
Rugby is in Venter’s genes as his yster flanker pa epitomised every quality of the hardboard Bokke, but the youngster reckons he is his own man.
On comparisons to his pa and being part of Rassie Erasmus’ Bok plans, he says: “To be honest, it’s mostly thanks to the team and the coaches for giving me the chance to play and then there is pressure on me to play well and so on.
“With regards to my dad, he hasn’t put any pressure on me, actually. He played flanker so it’s different positions. I think I am in the right space, and there is not a lot of pressure on me, bearing the Venter name. It’s really humbling [to be invited to the Bok camp], but you are only as good as your last game.”
Venter isn’t getting carried away with the kans of wearing green and gold for the first time.
He adds: “It’s truly humbling to be selected for that group [but] the camp is only next week. The north-south derby is probably the biggest fixture in provincial rugby in SA rugby.
“For us, it’s important to be at our best and not to get involved in the emotions. It’s another game where we are going to have to fight.”
devin.hermanus@inl.co.za