Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2020 i SA RUGBY

When Rassie Erasmus was named World Rugby Coach of the Year the day after the Springboks lifted the William Webb Ellis Cup in Japan, his players gave him a rousing standing ovation. With an understated smile, the coach explained what the accolade meant, first acknowledging his counterparts who had also been nominated. But Erasmus quickly changed gear and reminded everyone he would now focus on his role as director of rugby. ‘We are all trying to be like the All Blacks,’ he said. ‘We know what New Zealand has done over the past 12 years – they set the bar right up there. We’ve won the World Cup, but we want to be consistent and to try to stay at No 1 in the world.’ In subsequent interviews, Erasmus’ long-term…

Remember when the Springboks were the whipping boys and South African rugby was little more than a bad joke? In 2016 we witnessed historic losses to Ireland, Argentina and Italy. A year later, critics at home and abroad lamented the loss of a fearsome physical aura in the wake of record defeats to the All Blacks and Ireland. You didn’t need to open a newspaper or to log on to a rugby website to see that something was profoundly wrong. The limp and rudderless performances spoke volumes. The players were patently uncertain about their roles and the gameplan was a shambles. Worst of all, there didn’t appear to be any clear solution to South African rugby’s myriad problems. Expectations were tempered when Rassie Erasmus replaced Bok coach Allister Coetzee in…

Just over a year ago Herschel Jantjies wasn’t in the Springbok conversation for the World Cup. He was seen as a future star and another promising scrumhalf coming through the ranks. Embrose Papier and Ivan van Zyl were battling it out to be Faf de Klerk’s deputy in Japan. Both had opportunities in 2018 to stake a claim, with Papier producing a few decent cameos off the Bok bench. Meanwhile, Jantjies was having a wonderful Currie Cup campaign with Western Province, only months after making his debut. Not long before that he was playing in the Varsity Shield for the University of the Western Cape. In 2019, Jantjies made his debut for the Stormers and produced a couple of standout performances that quickly got people talking. His Bulls counterparts Papier…

How have you grown as a coach over the past couple of years? I have definitely matured a great deal over the past three years because I have to look after the management and the players. Then there’s the gameplan and other on-field stuff too. Many people think that coaching is only about playing strategy, but I am also responsible for a lot of things off the field. You can never get to a point where you feel like you’ve become the ultimate coach. Coaching is a process of learning, and that’s what I do every day and in every tournament with regard to managing the team and honing my players’ leadership skills. How different are things compared to when you started in this position? When I came in, we…

WALES 43 BARBARIANS 33 PRINCIPALITY STADIUM, CARDIFF, 30 NOVEMBER 2019 TOP 14 AWARDS PARIS, FRANCE, 25 NOVEMBER 2019…

BOK BREAKDOWN With the transport system as efficient as it is in Japan, the Springboks probably got used to a level of service their home country lacks. Yet, they were given a quick reality check during their victory parade back in South Africa. On the Cape Town leg of the parade, the buses carrying Springbok management and the team broke down just after leaving the centre of town. Passing motorists did not seem too bothered, though, as it gave them an opportunity to spend more time with their heroes and get an autograph or selfie. Eventually a replacement bus was arranged for the management group, while the team bus was repaired and the Boks continued the tour uninterrupted. RUBBING IT IN It is fair to say Bok scrumhalf Faf de…

HOT During a large part of the World Cup, the Bok scrumhalf came in for more than his fair share of criticism due to a perceived over-reliance on the kicking game. De Klerk responded with a standout performance in the final, before winning over a new legion of fans when pictures emerged showing him wearing just his proudly South African ‘Speedo’ as he celebrated after the victory over England. De Klerk even posed with the Webb Ellis trophy wearing just his budgie smuggler, while many memes popped up after a video showed him also meeting Prince Harry in his ‘swimwear’. When the Boks returned to South Africa for their trophy tour, many male fans replicated the look as they cheered on De Klerk in matching ‘Speedos’. Yet, it wasn’t all…

On a wild night in Yokohama in early November, Pieter-Steph du Toit moved from the realm of rugby mortal to zombie figure, at least in George Ford’s world. Whenever the England flyhalf looked up, there was Du Toit, bearing down on him like a rampaging fiend from The Walking Dead. No Mister Nice Guy on this extraordinary evening. If Du Toit wasn’t flattening Ford outright, the South African was making him fret, his normally tidy game forced into meltdown by the mayhem wrought by the Springbok loose forward. It was Ford’s misfortune to be targeted by Du Toit in the World Cup final. Given their respective assignments, the smart money might have been on Ford, usually a calm, nerveless playmaker with a deft kicking game. Du Toit has an engine…

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Josh Adams has come a long way since his days with the Llanelli U11s, but one thing has remained the same – or, more accurately, been revived. Back then, he was asked for a few bits of information for a player programme and when it came to the nickname section, he wrote ‘Chips’. The story goes that it’s because he liked chips so much, not that people actually called him that. They do now, though, for Adams told this tale during Wales’ pre-World Cup camp in Switzerland. ‘We were having a conversation about nicknames and it came up, so now the majority of the squad call me that,’ he explains. ‘Before that, it was “Jadzy”. Some would argue that Chips is an improvement!’ While the moniker is familiar from his…

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‘We put a lot of effort into making this possible over the past few months … I firmly believe private investors will add immense value to our beautiful game’- President of the Blue Bulls Company Willem Strauss after billionaire businessman Patrice Motsepe bought a major stake in the Pretoria-based franchise 37% Patrice Motsepe’s share of the Blue Bulls ‘The benefits of this deal are not only at the professional level, it will also make a positive impact on our amateur rugby, at schools, clubs and development levels. We are privileged and excited to have partners like Mr Motsepe in our corner.’– Alfons Meyer, CEO of the Blue Bulls Company ‘I THINK AUSTRALIANS WANT THEIR NATIONAL TEAM COACHED BY AN AUSTRALIAN AND I’M OK WITH THAT … ALL I CAN SAY…

KOLBE WINS BIG AT TOP 14 AWARDS Cheslin Kolbe’s stellar year was topped off with a string of awards. The Springbok speed merchant was voted Player of the Season at the Top 14 awards ceremony in France. Kolbe also claimed Try of the Season and was named Best Top 14 Player at the World Cup. WHITELEY FACES ANOTHER INJURY CHALLENGE Warren Whiteley has a tough decision to make about his playing career after it was reported he will not feature for the Johnannesburg-based side in the 2020 Vodacom Super Rugby season due to a long-standing knee injury. It’s said he could move into a coaching role. BOSCH TO SPECIALISE AT FLYHALF Curwin Bosch will be played predominantly at flyhalf for the Sharks in the 2020 Super Rugby season, according to…

Makazole: the name means he who must be calm and show humility. Mapimpi: he of cobras. Springbok World Cup-winning wing Makazole Mapimpi had lived this paradoxical existence all his life. Off the rugby field, he embodies his first name. On it, he completely belies his calmness and restraint to assume the deadly traits of a cobra. In the year he joined and surpassed World Cup-winning luminaries Chester Williams, Bryan Habana, JP Pietersen and other Springbok high flyers, Mapimpi showed that he is quick, combative, opportunistic and dangerous. He stands among the greats of the game, holding the title of being the first South African to score a try in a World Cup final (in three visits). He is a player who has had nothing handed to him on a plate…

The Eastern Cape has produced some of South Africa’s greatest role models, heroes and historical giants, and while Nelson Mandela will always be its favourite son, there is a younger ‘brother’ who is elbowing his way up as a beacon of hope and unity. Springbok captain Siya Kolisi is attaining a cult-like status in a country smitten with rugby. When the first black captain of the Boks lifted the Webb Ellis Cup, social media lit up with calls for the fiercely determined young man to become the next president of the country. When the team returned from Japan, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa joked he was grateful he did not have to run against Kolisi, suggesting he would come off second best in the voting. Kolisi represents the entire country…

It is perhaps fitting that it was former Springbok and Sharks captain John Smit who best summed up the career of Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira. Smit was interviewing the Beast not long after the final whistle of the World Cup and said, with an arm around the sweaty prop: ‘Beastie, I had the privilege of playing many a game with you and I can honestly say that when you get angry, or something or someone flicks your switch, you’re unstoppable … there isn’t a rugby player I have played against who could contain you!’ Smit then commended Mtawarira for his utter commitment to staying in the monstrous physical shape that underpinned his career longevity – over 11 years, the Beast played a whopping 117 Tests, with only Victor Matfield and Bryan…

Talk us through the process of your retirement, which was quite sudden. I was led by my heart. I’ve been a born-again Christian since I was 20 and I see everything we do as a journey with God. But it was hard. I’m not sure if people know the story but it all happened quite quickly at the beginning of 2017, when I still had two years to run on my Montpellier contract and was playing great rugby. I was praying one day and asked God that whatever He was doing in my life, that He would do it quicker. Then, at the end of the season at the year-end function, the club’s management told six players they were being let go and I was one of them. My wife…