Pienaar: Jackson will be the real deal

HEINEKEN CUP QUARTER-FINAL:

With his pearly white teeth, shorts and hoodie he could quite easily pass as an American tourist just back in from a yomp around the drumhills that surround this exclusive piece of real estate. Or maybe even one of the countless cast or crew shooting the latest Colin Farrell movie, Miss Julie, which will be filming around these parts for six weeks and is already making some of the locals somewhat giddy.

There is a Zen-like calm about the South African that must be a sight to behold in the crunch and confusion of a top-class rugby match. It is the sort of serenity that few men can muster in the heat of battle, whether that be sport’s artificial variety or those more life-threatening fields of combat.