South Africa’s loss is proving to be Ireland’s gain as Wilhelm de Klerk looks to continue his blossoming central partnership with Hugh Gavin in the Under-20 Six Nations Championship.
Last Saturday night at the Stade Maurice David in Aix-en-Provence, Richie Murphy’s Ireland Under-20s secured a hard-won 37-31 victory over France, marking the latest in a successful underage spring. De Klerk and Gavin played the full 80 minutes as they began their efforts.
The pair will link up again in midfield tomorrow evening when the Italian squad arrives at Virgin Media Park to take part in the second round of this year’s tournament.
While Gavin was born and raised in Galway, de Klerk spent the first ten years of his life in South Africa. However, due to his father’s work commitments, he and his family moved here, and that’s when his journey to the Ireland Under-20s began in earnest.
“We originally planned to stay here for two years. We ended up really liking Ireland and have been here ever since,” De Klerk explained in a video call with Irish media yesterday. .
“As far as my rugby career, I started with Malahide for a year or two and then played for Clontarf for a couple of years. When I started school I first went to St Andrews College and in my fourth year I went to St Michael’s. I had the opportunity to move to university.
“I think that’s where I learned most of my rugby and really developed as a player. I played in the Senior Cup in five and six years. Leaving school, I’m now at UCD under the same head coach Emmett McMahon. I think that helped me fit into the team a little bit more.”
De Klerk celebrates with Jack Murphy after defeating France. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
Gavin was a virtually constant presence throughout last year’s Six Nations campaign (albeit stationed on the wing), while de Klerk is one of the new additions to this class of 2024. Despite playing for Ireland against some of the French players, last year’s U19 side admitted last weekend’s aforementioned Championship opener was a daunting affair.
But with Gavin’s experience as an inside center, he could play a key role in important wins.
“This was probably the biggest game I’ve been involved in. Having a game like that with the U19s in France last year helped me. It gave me an idea of how hostile the big crowds in France can be. That was the first time I experienced it.
“it hurts [with UCD] This was a big step for us and helped us play against bigger teams and find a way to deal with it.
“This was one of the toughest matches I’ve ever been in, and so was the crowd. If I made a mistake, you’d definitely hear it. It was kind of tough.
“He thinks so [Gavin] He showed over the weekend how good he is as a 12-year-old. His really great performance really stepped up as a leader. To be honest, we understood the partnership and I think it’s working very well. His experience last year was very helpful to me.I learned a lot about shapes. [of the attack]”
Unsurprisingly, despite the fact that only a few players from last year’s squad survived (and none from the 2022 class), the current There was some talk from outside about the promising stocks. Ireland.
Last weekend’s victory at the Stade Maurice David gave Irish supporters the hope of repeating the honor in 2024, given that France finished second in the last two championships in this grade. You believe you can.
While recent successes may put a lot of weight on the shoulders of De Klerk and his international colleagues, he prefers to look at it from a different perspective.
“I don’t think it’s a good look to put pressure on yourself. How I handled it is, this is our offense. This is the year we do it.
“You might lose a game, but the best way to deal with it is to come back even stronger,” added de Klerk.
“You never know, the team just played a really good game and it could be over. I think it’s also a good way to take inspiration from the past few years and think about it.”