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Nelspruit - Springboks coach Allister Coetzee hailed the performance of blindside flanker Teboho Mohoje during Saturday's win over Argentina in Nelspruit.
Mohoje delivered a commanding performance, especially on defence where he made 13 tackles and justified his selection after he came in to the starting line-up as a replacement for the injured Siya Kolisi.
And Coetzee was understandably delighted with the Mohoje's effort during the 80 minutes.
"I’ve never felt there was a problem for us at blindside flank," he said.
"We’ve got two number sixes in Francois (Louw) and Jaco (Kriel). With Siya Kolisi out we’ve got Oupa at seven.
"I didn’t pick Oupa because Siya was injured but because I believe he can effectively play that role at number seven.
"He’s an out-and-out line-out specialist‚ he has a high work rate‚ and he’s also got good pace‚ and that’s what we want from our loosies.
"He showed why he was in winning sides against Australia and New Zealand in 2014‚ and there’s really no doubt he’s a quality player. He has had injury problems in the past‚ but we’ve seen what value he can add at blindside flank."
Mohoje missed out on selection for the Boks during their 2-1 series win over Ireland in June and he had to be satisfied with a place in the South Africa 'A' side during their two-match series against the England Saxons.
"For me‚ playing in the SA A side certainly gave me some confidence‚ and so when this opportunity to play for the Boks came around‚ I just knew that I needed to do whatever I could to make the most of it‚" said Mohoje.
"It’s great to be part of this environment again‚ and you saw in this game how we are really playing for each other.
"When the chips were down‚ we displayed real resilience and kept on grafting for each other‚ and that gave us the edge."
