Jantjies 2.0 - mature playmaker and key Lions leader

Much of the focus during the Emirates Lions’ campaign this season has revolved around the captaincy and the impact with or without Warren Whiteley. But few have noticed the growing leadership role played by Elton Jantjies, and the way he continues to mature as a key cog in the Lions machinery.

There were a few eyebrows raised earlier in the season when Malcolm Marx leapfrogged Jantjies to the captaincy in Whiteley’s absence. After all, Jantjies was the vice-captain and was expected to take over the reins for coach Swys de Bruin.

And the same eyebrows were raised when he moved to 12 against the Chiefs on tour, allowing Gianni Lombard to shift seamlessly into the pivot position. But few know that the move was one of Jantjies own doing, as part of his mentoring job with Lombard, and his desire to take on more responsibility for his team.

There is no doubt Jantjies is a consummate professional on the field. His teammates often refer to his exceptional work ethic, the hours he spends on his game and the way he has grown into his position as an integral part of the set-up.

And Jantjies, who has been through the public opinion ringer and has consistently tried to answer with his form, knows just one thing. The team means everything. And everything for the team.

JANTJIES WALKS THE TALK

It’s the kind of cliché we see every now and again from players that go unnoticed in the bigger realm of rugby and the kind that we need to see more of in practice. Jantjies doesn’t need to do that. He walks the talk rather easily.

Just as the prospect of his new-found playmaker role at 12 excites him once again for the game.

“You mention a good point. I had a chat to the coaches on tour and it did excite me. It wasn’t from a negative point of view at all, I saw the game in a different manner and had to work on different aspects of my rugby, it isn’t just playing as a flyhalf or 12,” he explains.

“It is a difference and it was challenging for me, and that is what I like. I don’t always want to be in a position where it’s always the norm. I like to be out of my comfort zone.”

But the move to the unknown came with the same responsibility, if not more, from the coaching team. Mentoring is one thing, but taking the chance on an unknown in a key game isn’t anything new for the Lions, but it remains a gamble until the player excels in the opportunity created.

“I love the responsibility, but with that comes a bigger responsibility. I love freedom and especially when I get onto the field I am at my most free. Obviously outside the field you don’t always have that luxury.

“I like certain things and the responsibility helps my leadership, and helps to groom the younger players as well.

“Coach Swys (de Bruin) trusts us, trusts Malcolm (Marx), Wazza (Warren Whiteley), trusts Kwagga (Smith), trusts myself. He trusts the leadership group and he trusts the spine. He trusts us to make the right decisions at the right time.

“If we don’t make the right decisions he trusts us to back each other and that is what we stand for. That is part of our DNA and our culture – we don’t play to win, we play to inspire and to glorify God. And we stick with that. It has been working for us for the last few years and we will continue to get better with it.”

PIECES HAVE TO FIT INTO A PUZZLE

Form isn’t an issue for Jantjies – well, individual form, that is. To him rugby’s mantra of each piece fitting into a puzzle and every part of a successful team needs to function is key in his outlook. The team needs to move forward, and he has a job to do. Simple as that.

And while he has been crucial in the kicking department over the past few weeks, his boot being the difference in the two back-to-back home wins over the Waratahs and Highlanders, Jantjies is happy just to keep on plugging away at perfection.

“It’s something I don’t look at, as long as the team wins. But obviously I have a lot of work-ons, not just from an individual point of view, but from a team point of view as well. How can I apply myself more in the game. How consistent can I be and what influence can I have on the game, not just for my team but for myself.

“I have a lot of work-ons. Every single day I have two or three work ons that I do after each training session to make sure I get better as a rugby player. Even though I’ve played a lot of games there are still areas of my game that I can improve on during the season and after Super Rugby as well.”

The Lions have grown as a side, even though the 2019 season has been a bumpy ride for De Bruin’s team and with the injuries and losses, coupled with the introduction of young talent, they have not been as dominant as in the past three years.

COMING INTO FORM AT THE RIGHT TIME

But now it seems there is an upward trend, a move towards the playoffs and the Lions are coming into form at the right time. Their path may be difficult but as we have seen before, momentum is massive for this team.

“It is definitely good for the team and we have a lot of younger players, new boys who are playing their first game of Super Rugby, that came from different unions with experience. We have our own system and structures and they have to get used to that.

“We also tried a few things at the beginning of the season. We have certain things that we are going to need later in the season, and we lost a few games because of it but we know from a result point of view you may say it is inconsistent, but from a team point of view it is growth. We lost a few games and we won a few games but now we took two in a row.

“We had a good tour, even though we only won one game but certain things came into place and a lot of guys picked up a lot of experience. You could see that when the Waratahs came here and we came back from the bye we saw young players stepping up and delivering. You saw it last week against the Highlanders when people didn’t give us a chance.

“We played to get better as players and get better as a team. It challenges us to make the right decisions at the right time, and the coaches expect us to deliver. I was positive in the manner the guys played. There were moments the game went away from us and then it swung back to us in the end.

GELLING AS A TEAM AND WANTING TO GET BETTER

“We’ve learnt a lot during the season. Younger players are making better decisions and senior players as well. We are gelling as a team together and we still want to get better. We are definitely not at our best. We still have four more games building up to the playoffs and we aren’t even looking at that. We’re looking at the Sharks now and we want to improve on things we did wrong in the Highlanders game.

“After the tour – I always feel that is where teams get to know each other better, earn respect from each other and not just for yourself. And you gel and stick together. That is what tours are about.”

Now, with days until they return to face a Sharks side that humiliated them in their last outing, thrashing them at home and turning the form book on its head, Jantjies isn’t talking revenge. Quite simply, all he wants is his team to perform. If they do the rest will take care of itself.

“It’s not personal for us. We just focus on ourselves. That game was weeks ago and we look at areas from last week we want to improve on. South African derbies obviously have something in them. We took a lot of learning out of that game and while that one didn’t go our way, we know it will be a great challenge.”

Jantjies the upstart has turned into Jantjies the mentor. The Lions pivot has matured and is the backline general his team always needed him to be. Now at a new phase in his career, giving back may be the best thing he could ever do.

And the responsibility comes at a time when he is looking precisely for that. To take more pressure on his shoulders.