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'He rarely speaks': Leicester's compelling insight on new Springboks recruit Wiese
By Liam Heagney
Uncapped No8 Jasper Wiese will fly out to join up with the Springboks at the end of the Gallagher Premiership season next weekend with a ringing erndorsement from Steve Borthwick, his Leicester head coach who was fulsome in his praise over what his bulldozing forward has achieved in his first full season in England.
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Leicester snapped up the 25-year-old Wiese when the Cheetahs unravelled in the pandemic, their team no longer participating in the Guinness PRO14 and their players falling prey to offers from elsewhere.
Wiese arrived in the East Midlands as an unknown but he has become such a favourite that he forced his way into the 46-strong Springboks squad announced last Saturday by Rassie Erasmus, who hinted he could now go on and have a huge part to play against the touring Lions following the ankle problem picked up by Duane Vermeulen, an injury that has since been operated on.
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“Lucky for us Jasper can play No8 with Duane’s injury now,” said Erasmus at the weekend. “You can’t ignore the form he is in. He is just the outstanding South African guy playing Premiership, he is just knocking the door down.”
His stats illustrate his impact. In 14 Premiership appearances for Leicester, there have been 177 carries for 705 metres from Wiese, an average gain of 3.98 metres per carry. There have also been 117 tackles, 54 defenders beaten, 21 passes, eight clean breaks, five offloads, four turnovers won and three tries.
No sooner was Vermeulen included in the Springboks squad to face the Lions, Rassie Erasmus was outlining his worst fears about his veteran No8 https://t.co/zRZHEbwzdi
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 5, 2021
On the debit side, you will find 16 penalties conceded (13 in defence), eleven turnovers conceded, two yellow cards and one red, but those negatives haven’t diluted his appeal to Leicester boss Borthwick who gave RugbyPass an insight into the Wiese that will arrive in fresh and new to the Springboks.
“Generally he is a quiet, reserved character. On the field, he leads by actions. He rarely speaks but when he does his words have a significant effect on those around him. He wants to learn all the time, wants to get better, he’s brilliant. It has been a privilege to coach him over this last period of time.
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“They will know him very well. They have been tracking him. He is a real passionate, driven rugby player. A fierce competitor and still a young man. He is young in his professional rugby career. He is desperate to take on every bit of learning to improve.
“There are plenty of (standout) moments. He is a player who the other players love playing with. If your teammates want to go on the field with you then it says a lot about your character and what you bring to them.”
Steve Borthwick has had his latest say on the Afoa situation that sparked last Saturday's Leicester-Bristol row#LEIvBRIhttps://t.co/vnnDhWpYJy
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 8, 2021
