PARIS - Raymond Rhule says having a "special bond" with fellow Springbok Dillyn Leyds has allowed the pair to blossom at La Rochelle, before Saturday's French Top 14 trip to Bayonne.
The pair arrived at Stade Marcel Deflandre in the summer of 2020 before helping the outfit on the Atlantic coast to last season's European Champions Cup.
Rhule is currently out injured with an ankle issue but 30-year-old Leyds has scored 27 points including 17 from the tee, his first from the boot since 2015, as La Rochelle sit second in the league table after six rounds.
"We're close. We've played together since under-20s where we won the World Championship (in 2012)," Rhule told AFP this week.
"It's always nice when you have someone you can relate to, and crack the same type of jokes.
"It's a special bond which makes rugby go a whole lot easier when you guys see the same pictures, see the game the same way," he added.
Rhule, who like Leyds can play centre, wing and full-back, made the last of his seven South Africa appearances in 2017's record defeat to New Zealand and missed out on the Rugby World Cup success two years later.
"I've always wanted to have a comeback but those types of things are not up to me," said Rhule.
"I left there (South Africa) on a sour note and I always want an opportunity to rectify that.
"If it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. I've learnt to control what I can control and everything else is not up to me," he added.
Rhule headed to France 12 months after his most recent cap and signed with second-tier Grenoble.
There he was clocked running 35km/h during a game by French broadcasters Canal+, as quick as Paris Saint-Germain's France World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe.
"Pace is a part of my game but I reckon it's not my whole game," Rhule said.