THE last time Boan Venter visited Wales he helped himself to three tries but his Edinburgh team still came up short, losing 23-19 to the Ospreys in January 2022.
The capital outfit return to the Principality to take on the Ospreys this Sunday, and a similar individual scoring performance with a better team result would be the perfect sign-off for the loose-head prop before he heads back to his native South Africa to marry fiance Jacomi.
“Hopefully we’ll get a win down in Cardiff, then we’ll get the bus back with a couple of cold ones to pass the time, and on Monday afternoon I am off to South Africa,” he smiles.
“When we were deciding on venues and dates and all of that for the wedding, I had a nice sit-down with our team manager, Matt Cornwell, and Mike Blair as well, to decide when would suit best for us to get married, so it was planned well in advance so make sure I don’t miss any games,” he quickly adds in case anyone should think he is not taking his commitment to the club seriously.
Venter arrived in the Scottish capital in February 2021 on a three-and-a-half year contract and admits that he would love to follow his countryman Pierre Schoeman in completing the residency requirement – five years in his case – to become eligible to wear the Scotland No.1 jersey.
“Since I’ve been a little boy the aspiration has been to be world class and play international rugby one day,” he reasons.
“My life philosophy is not to look too far forward because then you stub your toes at where you are at,” he adds. “So, it is just about working hard week on week and letti8ng the future take care of itself.”
Venter might not have made the same immediate impact as Schoeman did after his move to Edinburgh in 2018, but his club coach is in no doubt that he has the raw potential to go all the way.
“Boan is one of the most naturally athletically gifted props you’ll come across and he’s getting back into the shape now we want him to be in, because he was a little bit heavy at the start,” says Blair. “He wants to follow in Pierre’s footsteps in the way he came across here and became a world-class player, and at the age of 25 we believe Boan can push in that direction as well.”
“If he can keep himself right physically and stays competitive through a ruthless mindset then I think he can get up to that level. He has the physical qualities to do it, so it is up to him if he achieve that.”
