Quotes from Faf de Klerk

Growing up at school I played a lot of fly-half and a lot of scrum-half, I thought I had a good boot but never really used it as much as I do now.

I've always had lots of energy; it's just been about channelling it in the right way. I know I can be annoying, but that's just my way and hopefully more people than not like my personality.

At Sale we're an up and coming club, wanting to draw bigger crowds. You can't just run everything, though, you need a balance.

The massive thing that has changed for me was the game management aspect. I still get it wrong sometimes, we all do, when to attack and when to kick, how to control the game, speeding it up and slowing it down. Whereas I used to just go flat out, as hard as I can, get the ball out and get to the ruck as quick as possible.

You can have size but to be physical is a different story.

I enjoy putting teams under pressure, forcing turn-overs and just being a pain really!

When we were younger, my brother and I would go out bow hunting. That got me into it. We hunted all kinds of wildlife - things with big horns normally. Deer, kudu, stuff like that.

I'm pretty excited when I get a good kick up in the air and our wings start chasing, because I know it's a 50-50. When you kick well and compete well, the odds fall on our side.

A World Cup is always a bit of a watershed for teams, so there will be new faces and players given the chance to perform at a higher level.

When I joined Sale I thought that if I did well there I would have a chance of making the World Cup squad. What I did not expect was how quickly I got back into the frame.

The popularity of rugby definitely grew in South Africa over the World Cup, and sport has great power, so hopefully it will make some difference. Even if it's just 1%, it's a bit of a change.

I miss hunting and when I go home I always find an opportunity to go for a hunt again, out in the bush veldt.

As nines in our system, we need to make sure that we come off the line and that we have numbers correct on both sides.

I play to inspire people and give confidence to young kids who might shy away because of their size.

We all say we enjoy playing rugby, but most guys don't really show it - and some guys I don't think actually enjoy it. So every time I arrive in the morning, I've always got a smile on my face. Once I lose that enjoyment, I will stop playing.

If you have heart and you are ready to work hard you will reach your dreams.

One of my goals is to become the perfect player but you'll never reach that goal if your mindset is not right, I think.

A multi-racial team with a black captain means a lot to the country. There will always be negative political parties in South Africa, but hopefully it's something to take forwards.

It is not just willy-nilly running around. I need to fill certain spaces and make sure we are covered on both sides of the ruck and the numbers are right.

A charity approached me to help raise awareness for testicular cancer and there are now some great photos of famous South Africans in their pants helping to spread the word.

You need to adapt your game for what the team needs.

It's good if people see me as a running nine but I wanted to be viewed as an all-round scrum-half, who can do anything at any time.