Choosing the Boks over Scotland was never a question for Boan Venter

The debutant scored a try and showed his power in the scrums against Georgia in Mbombela on Saturday, making it a debut to remember. But for the Edinburgh resident, he took the road less travelled to the Bok squad.

Veter was born in Kimberly and cut his teeth in the Griquas junior ranks as a loosehead prop before joining the Cheetahs in 2017. After four years in Bloemfontein, he signed a contract with Scottish outfit Edinburgh, where he has become a near-permanent feature of their front row.

Somewhat incredibly, Venter has played in every single United Rugby Championship match for the last three seasons, bar one.

The 28-year-old is on track to become eligible for Scottish residency qualification in February 2026, which would have allowed him to play for Scotland's national team under World Rugby's five-year residency rule. But when the call from his beloved Boks came, it was an opportunity he couldn't miss.

"From a young boy playing rugby at six or seven years old, it's every South African's dream to play for the Springboks, so when I got that call, it was pretty much a no-brainer for me," Venter told the press last week.

"At the end of the day what counts is that we are here and it was so great to slot into this group. Everyone was so welcoming and helped us hit the ground running.

"Since the team was announced, we felt the support of the whole group. As a group, we are quite tight and try to pick each other up and be supportive, and it played a massive role in giving us confidence leading up to the game.

"It's a level up from club rugby. Not much in terms of due process but it's definitely a level up. I wouldn't say it surprised me, it was just nice to again how big rugby is in South Africa.

"It's quite inspirational to see a whole nation get behind a team and I they know how much that support means to the team."