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Pollard living the dream

Cape Town - Flyhalf Handré Pollard says being selected in the Springbok squad is better than a dream.

Pollard, 20, retained his place in the Bok squad for the upcoming Rugby Championship after making his debut against Scotland in June.

Pollard is one of three flyhalves, alongside Morné Steyn and Pat Lambie, in Heyneke Meyer’s Bok squad and while he is not certain of game time, he said he will keep working hard to hopefully get a shot.

The Boks thrashed Scotland 55-6 in Pollard’s debut Test in Port Elizabeth with the youngster kicking 13 points in a solid display.

In an interview with Die Burger, Pollard said starting alongside experienced players made things easier and it helped him to a dream start in Test rugby.

“It’s more than what you dream about. You dream about something specific, but at the end of the day, it (playing) is even better than a dream.”

The Boks start their Rugby Championship campaign against Argentina at Loftus Versfeld on August 16.

The Springbok squad for the Castle Lager Rugby Championship 2014:

Forwards (17)

Willem Alberts, Bakkies Botha, Schalk Brits, Marcell Coetzee, Lodewyk de Jager, Bismarck du Plessis, Jannie du Plessis, Eben Etzebeth, Francois Louw, Frans Malherbe, Victor Matfield, Teboho “Oupa” Mohoje, Tendai Mtawarira, Trevor Nyakane, Gurthrö Steenkamp, Adriaan Strauss, Duane Vermeulen

Backline (13)

Damian de Allende, Jean de Villiers (captain), Bryan Habana, Cornal Hendricks, Francois Hougaard, Patrick Lambie, Willie le Roux, Lwazi Mvovo, Ruan Pienaar, Handré Pollard, Cobus Reinach, Jan Serfontein, Morné Steyn

The full Rugby Championship schedule for 2014 is (SA kick-off times):

Round 1 - August 16
12:05: Australia v New Zealand (ANZ Stadium, Sydney)
17:05: Springboks v Argentina (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)

Round 2 - August 23
09:35: New Zealand v Australia (Eden Park, Auckland)
21;40 (16h40 local time): Argentina v Springboks (Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena, Salta)

Round 3 - September 6
09:35: New Zealand v Argentina (MacLean Park, Napier)
12:10 (18h10 local time): Australia v Springboks (Patersons Stadium, Perth)

Round 4 - September 13
09:35 (19h35 local time) New Zealand v Springboks (Westpac Stadium, Wellington)
12:05: Australia v Argentina (Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast)

Round 5 - September 27
17:05: Springboks v Australia (Newlands, Cape Town)
TBC: Argentina v New Zealand (Estadio Ciudad de La Plata, La Plata)

Round 6 - October 4
17:05: Springboks v New Zealand (Ellis Park, Johannesburg)
00:40 (Sunday, 5 October): Argentina v Australia (Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza)
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