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Rassie, Boks to let high-flying Jantjies soar

Cape Town - Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus says the plan for high-flying scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies is to let him play his natural game moving forward. 

The 23-year-old has made an astonishing start to his Test career, scoring two tries on debut against the Wallabies in Johannesburg two weekends ago and then coming off the bench to score a match-saving try against the All Blacks in Wellington on Saturday as the Boks salvaged a 16-16 draw. 

Jantjies' rise to the top has been meteoric, but Erasmus was asked at Saturday's post-match press conference at Westpac Stadium how he planned to keep the youngster grounded after such an incredible start to his international career. 

"I think with a guy like him if you can keep the natural game flowing and you don't over coach him too much on all the technical things," Erasmus explained.

"A lot of the mistakes us as coaches make sometimes is we put a lot of emphasis on the slow, mechanical things like box kicks and that.

"His service is nice and crisp and his feeling for the game and support play are really great attributes he brings.

"If we keep encouraging that and don't over coach the things that he doesn't do great, he'll keep improving and he'll keep doing the things that he did today.

"The nice thing is that he is doing it at the highest level, so hopefully it continues."

Jantjies has now almost certainly booked his ticket to the 2019 World Cup in Japan, where he will likely operate as an x-factor option off the bench behind first choice Faf de Klerk, who left the field with a head knock on Saturday.

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