South Africa prop Zachary Porthen has described his debut for the Springboks, against Japan on Saturday, as 'unreal' and a 'dream come true' and says he's determined to remain in Rassie Erasmus's good graces going forward.
Head coach Erasmus made the somewhat surprising decision to start 21-year-old Porthen, on his maiden tour with the Boks, against the Brave Blossoms at Wembley, and the former Junior Springboks captain acquitted himself well.
He hit 13 rucks, made nine tackles and a carry in his 48 minutes on the field.
The former Wynberg Boys High School player, now with the Stormers, said after his debut: "It was honestly unreal.
"It was a dream come true to be on the same field as all those guys (who I've looked up to). I could only dream of it before, and now it has come true. It's crazy.
"This is what I've wanted to do my whole life, and it is certainly the highlight of my career so far. I'm grateful to be here, and I hope I can stay here. That's the next step."
Of his performance, he said: "I thought I did all right. I obviously have a lot to learn, but there are also things I can be proud of.
"That said, I'll go back to the drawing board and learn. I've already spoken to coach Daan (Human - Bok scrum coach) and he said we have a couple of things we have to get into.
"The level of rugby was completely different, but it was nice that I got to this stage, and I feel I'll be a little bit better next time because I now know what to expect."
Next up for the Boks is France this coming Saturday in Paris, and Porthen hopes to be part of that XV as well but is under no illusions: "Obviously, it was my first game and that in itself was like preparation for the rest of the tour.
"That said, I'm going to take it one step, day, and training session at a time, and do exactly what the coaches expect from me. If Rassie says, 'Zac do this,' I'm going to do exactly that."
