Having missed out on the Springbok World Cup squad, Serfontein featured for the Blue Bulls in their victory over the Sharks on Friday before being called up to replace injured Springbok skipper Jean de Villiers on Sunday.

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The Bulls centre was a regular starter in the Springbok midfield last year alongside De Villiers, but lost out on selection for the global showpiece thanks to the meteoric rise of Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel.

De Villiers' broken jaw sustained in the victory against Samoa in Birmingham and subsequent retirement from Test rugby has given Serfontein the chance he thought had passed him by, although he admitted that the circumstances were not ideal.

He revealed that he got a call from Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer on Saturday night and had something of a sleepless night before getting confirmation on Sunday.

"I was surprised to get the call, I was watching the Wales-England game and I got a call from coach Heyneke saying that Jean was injured and he was considering picking me but they would only confirm it on the Sunday.

"So I struggled to sleep on Saturday night and then on Sunday morning I got the news so I was happy but it is not ideal circumstances to come in with Jean being injured.

"But I am happy to be here now and I am just going to do everything I can to contribute to the team," he said.

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Serfontein admitted that being left out of the initial World Cup squad had been tough to take, but added that he had no reason to be bitter considering the form that Kriel has shown this year.

"I was very disappointed, it was tough but I got the chance to get some gametime in the Currie Cup which I was happy about.

"It was a difficult season, I had a couple of injuries at vital times which didn't help. Jesse obviously did very well when he got his chance so I can't complain or anything," he said.

With both Kriel and De Allende currently under an injury cloud, Serfontein may well get a chance to start against Scotland this weekend.

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De Allende was very impressive against Samoa until he had to go off with a knee injury, while Kriel was forced off late in the game with a cut below his eye which swelled up pretty seriously.

Kriel's injury is less serious which means that he may well start alongside Bulls teammate Serfontein who could get a chance to play in his favoured No.12 jersey in Newcastle this weekend.

Over the past two years Serfontein has shown an ability to play both inside and outside centre, and a convincing performance against Scotland could well present Meyer with another midfield selection headache.

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