Scotland prop Pierre Schoeman has revealed what it feels like to play against the Springboks.
Schoeman represented the Bulls from 2014 to 2018 before moving to Edinburgh, where he qualified to play Test rugby for his adopted nation.
Last Saturday, in his 51st Scotland appearance, the 32-year-old scrummed against close friend Wilco Louw as the Boks beat Scotland at Loftus Versfeld.
In a post on LinkedIn, Schoeman reflected on the unique emotions of taking on the country where he was born and raised, comparing South Africa and Scotland to two children with different personalities.
Schoeman’s LinkedIn post:
“What does it feel like to play against South Africa?”
It’s one of the questions I’m asked more than any other.
For years, I struggled to answer it. How do you explain something that lives deeper than words?
Then one day, my wife Charissa Schoeman said something that gave me the answer:
“It’s like having two children with completely different personalities, yet you love them both with all your heart.”
That captured it perfectly.
As a competitor, nothing changes. I want to win. I want to perform. I want to achieve. When the whistle blows, there are no half measures.
Growing up in South Africa, my older brother Juan Schoeman and I spent countless afternoons playing barefoot in the garden with a rugby ball. He was three years older than me, which, according to him, made him stronger, faster and infinitely wiser. According to me… it just meant I had to get up more often.
Those “friendly” games usually ended with one of us in tears, both of us covered in grass stains, and our parents stepping in before the neighbours started wondering if they should call for reinforcements.
The funny thing is, we never kept score.
What we remembered was that tomorrow we’d be out there again.
Giving everything. Tackling harder than we probably should have. Laughing just as hard afterwards.
That’s what brothers do.
And that’s exactly what it feels like to play against South Africa.
You stand opposite people, a country and a place that helped shape who you are. You compete with everything you have because that’s what respect demands.
Then the final whistle blows.
The competition ends.
The love doesn’t.
Some rivalries are built on history.
Others are built on family.
I’m fortunate enough to understand both.
Against The Grain. Against all odds. Twelve years apart.
The post Schoeman opens up on facing Boks appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Scotland prop Pierre Schoeman has revealed what it feels like to play against the Springboks.
The post Schoeman opens up on facing Boks appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
