No doubt about it, CJ Stander is one of us now.
He may have been born in South Africa, raised on the Western Cape and schooled in Pretoria but the 25-year-old is determined to bleed, sweat and win for Irish rugby.
It has taken Stander three years to become a naturalised Irish rugby player.
That was his goal as soon as he arrived in Limerick. Injury and form combined for a slow start but there were glimpses of his thunderous best under Rob Penney.
When Anthony Foley arrived, Stander was let off the leash.
Now ensconced in Ireland’s Six Nations squad, the back-row is eager to play wherever he can to help his new team retain the titles they won in 2014 and 2015.
As a demonstration of his 100% commitment to the Irish cause, Stander is following the lead of fellow South African Richardt Strauss, who, in 2012, learned and belted out Amhrán na bhFiann before his Ireland debut.
If he gets selected for the Wales game, Stander told us he will be singing his heart out. He said:
“My wife has got YouTube and I’ve started [learning]. There is a clip where you can read the English and back into Gaelic and then you can start singing.
“I’m rooming with Donnacha Ryan. He is fluent in Gaelic so it’s good. He just starts singing and I follow up. We’ll see how good his teaching is when the chance comes up.”
As for the experience of hitting the training pitch with his new teammates [and some familiar, Munster faces], Stander is the picture of enthusiasm. He commented:
“It was tough. I know what’s expected now and it’s good to get into the groove and see what the boys get up to, get the new calls in.
“The first week was tough and it was great to get into the tempo, it was bit higher than I’m used to.”
