Ask any Sale Sharks fan about South Africa scrum-half Faf de Klerk and you will inevitably be met with a beaming expression. Despite being short in size, de Klerk has made a huge impact since his arrival onto these shores in 2017 and not only has he been pulling the strings at club level, he plays an intrinsic role for his national side as they won the Rugby World Cup in 2019 as the world’s best scrum-half. However, de Klerk’s career has not always been plain-sailing or an easy route to the top of the game.
In May 2017, Sale announced the signing of Faf de Klerk from the Lions in Johannesburg. At that time, South African rugby was in disarray, a far cry away from the squad that lifted the Webb Ellis trophy towards the end of last year. Despite his talent, de Klerk was out of the picture for South Africa when he decided to move to the North West of England and due to the 30-cap rule in place at the time in South Africa, he became ineligible to play for his country. It became clear from the outset that South Africa’s temporary loss was to be Sale’s gain. In de Klerk’s final appearance for the Lions in the Super Rugby Final against the Crusaders, he came off the bench and nearly single-handedly turned the game around for the Lions. Sale fans already had a good indication of the talented player they were on the verge of calling their own. De Klerk scored on his Premiership debut away at Wasps and just a matter of weeks later showed his class with a sublime chip box-kick over the top of Gloucester’s defence to set up a try for Byron McGuigan in a 57-10 demolition of the Cherry and Whites.
After just one season in the Gallagher Premiership, de Klerk found himself back in the South Africa squad. Then-South Africa head coach (now Director of rugby) Rassie Erasmus convinced the South African Rugby to relax the the 30-cap eligibility rule which had been put in place at the start of 2017 in order to select players like de Klerk and immediately he was back in the fold. On his return to the national setup, de Klerk started all 3 tests in South Africa’s home series against England and played a starring role in the series, named man of the match in his first test match back in the team. His constant sniping around the fringes of the ruck and quick-thinking proved a real menace that England could not deal with. In 2018, de Klerk was named as one of the 5 nominations for World Rugby Player of the Year, a dramatic turnaround from where his career was only 18 months beforehand.
Upon arriving in the Premiership, it became clear that de Klerk had to adapt his game to the rigours of English rugby and the weather in the North West. The Gallagher Premiership is played over the autumn, winter and spring with very little of the season being played out in warm, dry conditions which de Klerk was more accustomed to in his homeland. Due to the wet, windy conditions normally seen at the AJ Bell Stadium (Sale’s home ground) over the winter months, de Klerk’s skill-set has developed since he joined Sale. For example, his game management and control have improved significantly and his kicking game is dramatically better. One of de Klerk’s unappreciated qualities is his defensive work. Despite being short in stature, he makes up for it in his aggression in the tackle, taking on players much bigger than he is. His ability to read when the opposition scrum-half is about to take the ball out the ruck and time sprinting out of the defensive line is exceptional. One great example of his defensive work was in Sale’s Premiership game against Harlequins in April 2019, when Danny Care seemed destined to score a try for Harlequins. However, de Klerk pulled off an incredible try-saving tackle to deny Care, rolling Care on top of him and forcing a 5-metre scrum which Sale then won a penalty from.
The attributes that de Klerk has developed in his time at Sale served him and South Africa well at the 2019 World Cup as the Springboks went all the way and won the tournament. His box kicking in particular in the knockout stages gave South Africa the field position they needed, notably in the quarter-finals against the hosts Japan where his kicking game worked to perfection and he was named man of the match. De Klerk has so far played 30 times for the Springboks and has established himself as one of their most important players. South Africa has gone from a shortage of quality scrum halves to a plethora of them. In addition to number 1 scrum-half de Klerk, the Springboks also had the likes of Cobus Reinach and Herschel Jantjies in their ranks during the World Cup.
During de Klerk’s time in the North West of England, Sale have carefully managed de Klerk’s number of games and are very good when it comes to player welfare. A good example of this is while de Klerk is playing for South Africa in the Rugby Championship which coincides with the start of the Premiership season. During rest weeks of the Rugby Championship clubs are entitled to call their players back to play in the Premiership. Whilst other Premiership clubs such as Bath (Francois Louw), Wasps (Willie le Roux) and Leicester (Matt Toomua and Tatafu Polota-Nau) brought back their players during those rest weeks, Sale have given de Klerk those weeks off not only to give his body a rest but also not having to fly thousands of miles every week. This would inevitably be hugely appreciated by de Klerk himself considering the number of games he has played in the last 3 years and the South African rugby union who get a key player rested during the rest weeks. This strong relationship between de Klerk and the club and the emphasis on player welfare contributed towards de Klerk signing a new deal midway through last season. De Klerk signed a new contract at Sale just 18 months into his original 3-year contract, signing on to the next World Cup in 2023. He turned down numerous offers from France in excess of £1 million-a-year in order to sign a new deal at the Sharks. This just demonstrates how much he has loved his time at Sale and how much he appreciates how the club have helped elevate him to the best scrum-half in the world.
De Klerk’s rise to becoming the best Number 9 in world rugby during his time at Sale has to be accredited to both de Klerk himself and the club. When he joined the club, he took on a leadership role in the squad and the responsibility of being a key player has improved him to no end. The club gave de Klerk the opportunity to come over to England when he was out of the picture with South Africa and giving him the responsibility has enhanced his performance level and helped expand his game. The skills he has learnt since joining Sale have taken him from a good player to a world-class player, the best in his position in the world. The World Cup demonstrated the developed skill-set as he was en essential part of the Springboks’ World Cup-winning side. De Klerk’s influence on the club has been felt off the field as well as on the field. After joining in 2017, he has played a key role in convincing numerous other South Africans to join him in the North West of England including fellow World Cup winner Lood de Jager and the 3 du Preez brothers. He has set an example for a number of Springboks that you can take your game on to another level abroad and become a regular for the national side by plying your trade in the Premiership.
The arrival of Faf de Klerk at Sale has taken both the player and the club onto a different level. De Klerk has become the world’s premier scrum-half and Sale are now title challengers in the Premiership. He has developed into a world class player with the club aiding him on that path, giving him the responsibility of being they key cog in the side and managing his game-time. Sale fans are very grateful to have Faf at the club and can continue to enjoy watching him in a Sale jersey for many more years to come.
Comments