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Brisbane – Springbok loose forward, Ryan Kankowski, says he hasn’t played on the flank for quite a while, but he is confident that he will be up for the task when South Africa tackle Australia in their Tri-Nations clash at the Suncorp stadium in Brisbane on Saturday.
“Yes, I haven’t played there in a while, but I have played there in one or two Tests before,” Kankowski said at the Springbok hotel on Tuesday.
The Sharks player who has 14 Tests under his belt was on Tuesday included in the Springbok team. He will play on the side of the scrum with Schalk Burger wearing the number six jersey and Pierre Spies at number eight.
Kankowski revealed Springbok coach Peter de Villiers had spoken to him before the Welsh Test earlier this year and told him that he was going to have to cover blindside and number eight.
“I’ve been training and playing as though I will cover there so it’s not like it’s something new to me. We’ve been swapping and changing this whole tour so far so I know the role.
“Schalk and Flo (Francois Louw) have been helping me a lot with my positional play on the flank. I’m looking forward to it, it’s quite an interesting loose trio combination and I’m looking forward to playing in it,” he explained.
When asked if he could possibly interchange roles with Spies at number eight, Kankowski said: “If something were to happen to Pierre I’m sure I will move there, but I think we’ll stick like that for the whole game.”
Kankowski believes the Aussies have a dynamic loose trio and he is looking forward to the challenge.
“They have a exciting loose trio. (Rocky) Elsom is a brilliant ball carrier and (David) Pocock’s brilliant on the ball. We’re expecting a very physical encounter. It’s always a good game against Australia and we are expecting a great battle.”
Kankowski believes Wallaby flyhalf Quade Cooper has played very well, especially against South African teams in the Super 14 and is definitely going to pose a threat.
“He’s had a brilliant season and has really been outstanding. He always makes something happen. Of course we’ll try to put pressure on him. But we’re going to try to stick to our game plan. Hopefully on the day it comes off for us,” he said.
He says the mood in the camp is still positive despite the two demoralising losses against the All Blacks.
“Things didn’t go our way and stuff like that but we’ve trained really hard this week and the guys are trying really hard to turn it around. You only as good as your last game and we haven’t played to our potential yet. Hopefully we can pick each other up,” he added.
Brisbane – Springbok loose forward, Ryan Kankowski, says he hasn’t played on the flank for quite a while, but he is confident that he will be up for the task when South Africa tackle Australia in their Tri-Nations clash at the Suncorp stadium in Brisbane on Saturday.
“Yes, I haven’t played there in a while, but I have played there in one or two Tests before,” Kankowski said at the Springbok hotel on Tuesday.
The Sharks player who has 14 Tests under his belt was on Tuesday included in the Springbok team. He will play on the side of the scrum with Schalk Burger wearing the number six jersey and Pierre Spies at number eight.
Kankowski revealed Springbok coach Peter de Villiers had spoken to him before the Welsh Test earlier this year and told him that he was going to have to cover blindside and number eight.
“I’ve been training and playing as though I will cover there so it’s not like it’s something new to me. We’ve been swapping and changing this whole tour so far so I know the role.
“Schalk and Flo (Francois Louw) have been helping me a lot with my positional play on the flank. I’m looking forward to it, it’s quite an interesting loose trio combination and I’m looking forward to playing in it,” he explained.
When asked if he could possibly interchange roles with Spies at number eight, Kankowski said: “If something were to happen to Pierre I’m sure I will move there, but I think we’ll stick like that for the whole game.”
Kankowski believes the Aussies have a dynamic loose trio and he is looking forward to the challenge.
“They have a exciting loose trio. (Rocky) Elsom is a brilliant ball carrier and (David) Pocock’s brilliant on the ball. We’re expecting a very physical encounter. It’s always a good game against Australia and we are expecting a great battle.”
Kankowski believes Wallaby flyhalf Quade Cooper has played very well, especially against South African teams in the Super 14 and is definitely going to pose a threat.
“He’s had a brilliant season and has really been outstanding. He always makes something happen. Of course we’ll try to put pressure on him. But we’re going to try to stick to our game plan. Hopefully on the day it comes off for us,” he said.
He says the mood in the camp is still positive despite the two demoralising losses against the All Blacks.
“Things didn’t go our way and stuff like that but we’ve trained really hard this week and the guys are trying really hard to turn it around. You only as good as your last game and we haven’t played to our potential yet. Hopefully we can pick each other up,” he added.
