Pretorius' boot gets a polish

By WYNNE GRAY

DURBAN - A couple of dogs guard Andre Pretorius' home in Johannesburg - bull mastiffs that look like lions and are named Savanna and Hooch after local cider brands.

All the drinks will be on the young five-eighths if he can guide the Springboks home against the All Blacks in Durban on Sunday after a week in which he has trained under kicking legend Naas Botha.

Four years ago, Pretorius made his first impact against New Zealand, in a moment which would have earned Botha's approval, when his late drop goal sank the visitors in Cape Town in the playoff at the Sanzar under-21 tournament.

Pretorius won his international call-up after some devastating play in the Super 12, when his running cut up the Crusaders and he showed solid goalkicking.

His speed and agility from sevens duty has sparked the Springbok backline, but he is being asked to leaven that dash with better tactical kicking.

Cue Botha at training, where his expertise was being welded to the youngster's athleticism.

"Naas was one of the best and the things I have picked up from his kicking have been invaluable," Pretorius said yesterday.

The 23-year-old played against the All Blacks at Wellington, but he struggled with the vicious swirling wind more than his opposite, Andrew Mehrtens.

Reports after the game suggested Pretorius broke down in his dressing room as he apologised for his kicking faux pas, but he said those were greatly exaggerated.

"I was hard on myself and had to be accountable, but that was as far as it went. Even speaking to Mehrtens after that test he said how tough the conditions were."

As someone born and bred in Johannesburg - "not born and fled," he laughs - Pretorius has played only three times at Kings Park in Durban, fewer than Mehrtens, who was born in the coastal city.

Pretorius was not one of the whizzkids who appeared in South Africa's strong Craven Week schoolboy tournament - recognition did not come for his small Dinamika High School in Johannesburg.

He also struggled to get going with the Lions in the Currie Cup and the Cats in the Super 12. Coach Laurie Mains preferred pivots such as Louis Koen or Clinton van Rensburg.

There was also a knee operation which removed him from the game for six months.

But this season, the 78kg five-eighths has been the golden meteor for planet Springbok. He zoomed around against Wales in his debut, getting all the basics done before showing the flair which troubled the Crusaders when they played against him at Ellis Park.

His style has also been evident against the Pumas, Samoa, the Wallabies and All Blacks.

Pretorius' childhood rugby hero was Springbok wing Pieter Hendricks, a player who backed his pace, was aggressive and attacked defences.

Another he admired was Hennie le Roux for his range of midfield skills.

An occasional fullback, Pretorius prefers five-eighths, where the extra tuition he is getting includes video analysis dissection of his game to improve his on-field decisions.