Orie edges closer to Bok ambition with old friend Etzebeth
Aug 16 (Reuters) - Lock Marvin Orie hopes to fulfil his long-held ambition of lining up alongside school friend Eben Etzebeth for South Africa but concedes he may have to be patient in a Springbok squad that is packed with quality second rowers.
Orie was a substitute in Saturday´s 32-12 Rugby Championship victory over Argentina in Nelson Mandela Bay, replacing Etzebeth for the final 12 minutes to earn a fifth test cap.
With Lood de Jager and Franco Mostert also in the squad, competition to start is fierce, but the Boks´ punishing schedule to the end of the year that includes another eight tests means injuries and player rotation will likely see the broader group get their chance.
"This team has done some amazing things over the last couple of years, so the standards to get into the squad is high," Orie told reporters on Monday. "There are some world-class second rows."
Orie took on the role as shadow British & Irish Lions player in training to help the team prepare for that series but is hoping for more opportunities in the green and gold of the Boks, hopefully alongside old friend Etzebeth, who is a stalwart of the side with 90 caps.
"The role of the guys not playing is to prepare those that are as best as possible. Some of us know the Lions plays better than our own," Orie said.
"Since school we have said we hope to one day play together (for the Boks). We have not yet had the chance to be on the field at the same time together. But you never know, hopefully that will happen.
"As players we have to always be ready and understand what the team needs and the roles the coaches put you in."
Argentina put the Bok line-out under pressure at the weekend, but Orie said they are not concerned ahead of the second clash between the sides at the same venue on Saturday.
"We lost a couple of line-outs and after our review we saw that all of them were our own concentration errors, so we don't think it is much to be concerned about. But obviously Argentina has a good line-out and we respect them," he said.
The Boks will name their team for the weekend on Tuesday. (Reporting by Nick Said Editing by Christian Radnedge)
