Elton Jantjies cross-kicks Springbok attention away towards 'challenging' Finn Russell

• Elton Jantjies has deflected attention on his start for the Springboks this weekend towards his direct opponent, Finn Russell.
• The pivot praised the Scottish play-maker for his ability to dictate play and says he'll be a real threat.
• Jantjies, despite his aversion to talking about himself, is embracing his responsibility as the conductor of the Bok assault.

Elton Jantjies, as he's deftly done for the whole of his career, cross-kicked the attention centred on him starting at flyhalf for the Springboks this weekend into the hands of his direct opponent, Scotland's Finn Russell.

The 31-year-old pivot is notoriously averse to answering questions about himself or taking any credit, once again on Wednesday reiterating that "I've always said it: It's not about me, it's just about the team".

Instead, Jantjies highlighted Russell's threat as the spearhead for a "different" Scottish combination that will be keen to topple the world champions.

"We all saw what Finn's capable of in that last Test against the British & Irish Lions. I really believe he made a big difference," said the Bok No 10.

"He challenged our group in a different way. At least we had some experience of his ability, so it’s just about focusing on our system and make sure we stop whatever he throws at us.

"We need to look at Scotland as a whole too. It's not the same team we faced in 2018 (a game won 26-20 by the Boks), it’s a different looking one.

"There are younger players that are keen to test themselves against us and they'll offer something else."

Neatly, Russell earlier in the day also kept his cards close to the chest, quipping that South Africa shouldn't just expect him to break the line unexpectedly or conjure up one of his magical passes.

"The Boks (apparently) expected Australia to run everything but they actually kicked everything, which was a different approach from them," said the Scottish flyhalf.

"It’s just a small thing but I think they were on to something, so I might just kick a lot to try to throw them off a little bit."

It forms part of a broader theme of the Springboks expecting anything from hosts that have shown some impressive versatility over the past year or so.

"Let’s see on Saturday what they’re going to bring. We’ll see in the first 10-15 minutes of the game how they want to play and that’s the only window where we can find solutions," said Jantjies.

"We can now only focus on ourselves and get better as a group."

Jantjies, however, is embracing the challenge that's been laid down to him by national coach Jacques Nienaber.

"The responsibility is on me to lead the boys in certain aspects of our game and make sure that we execute the things we’ve been working on as a group, making sure we’re aligned.

"That’s my job."

Kick-off on Saturday is at 15:00.