Clayton Blommetjies says he was denied the chance to play for the Springboks due to the preferential treatment dished out to other players by former coach Allister Coetzee.
Blommetjies, who played for the Cheetahs for the last four years, has joined the Scarlets ahead of the 2018-19 European season, and says the decision was made in the hope of representing Wales one day because he was treated unfairly in South Africa.
‘I don’t even think about wearing the green and gold anymore, because I never had an opportunity to do it,’ Blommetjies told the WalesOnline website.
‘Last year in Super Rugby, I was playing the best rugby of my career and the coach Franco Smith told me you are good enough to become a Springbok at the end of the year.
‘But Allister [Coetzee] picked players ahead of me not because of how they played throughout the year, but because they were his favourites. Players like Elton Jantjies were selected because he knew them.
‘After that, I thought I’m not going to fight for the green and gold anymore, I want to go overseas and when my agent told me he had an offer from the Scarlets, I said yes immediately.’
Photo: www.pro14rugby.org
