Rugby
John Goliath, Special to ESPN 7y

Mostert grateful he stayed to fight for the Springbok jersey

Rugby

When you think about the Lions Super Rugby team, things like speed, skill and flair come to mind. You think about high-tempo rugby, bulldozing runs, beautifully weighted passes and attacking kicks.

But someone needs to get their hands dirty to fight for possession for those exciting players to strut their stuff. Someone needs to graft and tackle, and put their body on the line.

That guy in the Lions team is lock Franco Mostert, the long-haired unsung hero who is starting to make big waves in in South African rugby with his performances over the last two years.

Mostert -- whose nickname is 'Sauce' because his surname is Afrikaans for mustard -- was one of the stars for the Springboks in their first Test against France. He carried the ball strongly, bossed the lineouts with his jumping and calling, and hit the rucks with a lot of venom.

It was an impressive outing in his first run-on Test for South Africa in the series opener at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. It was enough to keep seasoned campaigners Pieter-Steph du Toit and Lood de Jager out the starting line-up for Saturday's second Test against the French in Durban.

But Mostert was almost lost to South African rugby, as he was on the verge of taking up a contract in France. However, he decided to stay and fight for a place in the Bok side. It's a decision he certainly doesn't regret.

"I'm glad I didn't go to France in the end. If I did, I would have never had this opportunity to play for the Springboks," Mostert said.

"Coach Allister [Coetzee] has backed me and now I can play with the boys in the green and gold."

Mostert knows he can't rest on his laurels. The Springboks have always been blessed with great depth in the second row, and you have to be a special rugby player to keep the likes of Du Toit and De Jager -- the last two South African Player of the Year award winners -- out of the Bok team.

But the Lions man says the competition is bringing out the best of him, although it does help that he has got a lot of minutes under the belt this year to maintain his form.

"Form comes with playing minutes. I have played a lot of Super Rugby and most games I play for 80 minutes," Moster said.

"My fitness is up there, and I'm enjoying it. I try to work for the guy next to me.

"I also learn a lot every day from Pieter-Steph, Lood and Eben [Etzebeth]. We are blessed in this country to have three or four great locks. All three of them are great people and great rugby players.

"Eben and I have played well together. Our roles are different in the team. He does the hard work, and I do the shining!" Mostert joked.

The French have made eight changes to their run-on side for this weekend's match against the Boks. They were significantly strengthened after they were without the players who took part in the French Top 14 final.

While France lost to South Africa in the first Test, they did really well in the lineouts, contesting well on South Africa's ball.

Mostert expects another tough battle in this department, but says the Boks have a few tricks of their own for Saturday.

"We know it's going to be a physical game. We know that the players coming in are going to make them stronger," Moster said.

"Their lineouts were very good. They are big boys and they are good in terms of anticipating and contesting. They are very good on their own ball as well.

"We have to be very accurate on our ball and try to out work them. We have worked on a few things for the weekend, and hopefully that works out for us. [Hooker] Malcoml Marx and I have come a long for the last three years now. It helps, because I know how he throws the ball in and what types of jumps he likes."

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