Etienne Oosthuizen, the 120-kilogram South African who will be unleashed against the Pretoria Bulls at Canberra Stadium on Saturday night, wants to ''bash'' his countrymen.
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After returning from a brutal tour of South Africa, coach Jake White decided it was time the imposing 20-year-old made his ACT debut.
White offered the junior Springbok the chance to chase his rugby dreams in Australia while he was playing for the Johannesburg Lions in the Currie Cup. So far Oosthuizen has had to bide his time on the fringe of the top squad, but now White has decided to give the second-rower his first starting cap.
''We're playing a physical team and I pride myself on physicality,'' Oosthuizen said. ''You only get one chance to make a statement and when you get it, you have to make sure you do it right. I think my size is just genetics, I started to get big when I was 14 or 15 years old .. I want to show [the South Africans] the choice I made hasn't changed me wanting to make a name for myself.''
