Saffas abroad
17 Jan 2010
Keo.co.za looks at the South Africans who have performed in Europe this weekend.
Jean de Villiers, restored to the Munster starting line-up after a period where he was out of favour, combined excellently with British & Irish Lions centre Keith Earls in the Irish club’s 44-7 trouncing of Treviso. Springbok prop Wian du Preez started the match and performed well, particularly at scrum time.
Michael Claassens scored for Bath, but that wasn’t enough to avoid a 15-13 defeat to Stade Francais, which sees them crash out of the tournament. Luke Watson gave a strong performance for Bath from the back of the scrum, carrying strongly and contesting well at the breakdown.
Brent Russell and Willie Wepener were subs in Clermont’s 27-7 romp against the Ospreys. Springbok scrumhalf Ricky Januarie struggled behind a Ospreys pack who were being dominated.
Scott Spedding and Retief Uys scored for Brive, but they failed to avoid defeat to Leinster. Springboks prop CJ van der Linde came on off the bench for the final 25 minutes for Leinster. Highly rated South African No 8 Antonie Claassen was below par by his standards.
Toulouse No 8 Shaun Sowerby was absolutely superb in his side’s 33-21 win over Harlequins, consistently making ground with ball in hand and displaying a superb work ethic around the track.
Brian Mujati and Juandre Kruger excelled in Northampton’s 34-0 demolition of French Top 14 champions Perpignan, for whom Philip Burger, Gavin Hume and Steven Meyer were disappointing.
Ulster’s Springbok tighthead prop BJ Botha was superb by all accounts, scrummaging strongly and displaying a relentless work ethic in his side’s 21-13 win over Edinburgh.
26 Comments
17 Jan 2010, 20:17 pm
Juandre…cj…bj….butch….dammit…breaks my heart…Mujati too…
17 Jan 2010, 20:19 pm
and of course….the best sa loosie in the world…Luke….
Wepener …come home…Lions need you!
17 Jan 2010, 20:20 pm
Southern Kings….Melbourne Rebels….interesting times for these players….
Frans Steyn you twit, why a 3 year contract!
17 Jan 2010, 20:21 pm
Proteaes take a bow….
And choose that squad wisely for India…..those pitches certainly wont be like the Wanderers snake pit…
17 Jan 2010, 20:22 pm
all the players mentioned above would strengthen our super 14 squads….and there are so many more saffas overseas….
Hectic talent…
17 Jan 2010, 20:24 pm
apparently Steven Meyer on Sharks shopping list for this years super 14….
17 Jan 2010, 20:42 pm
Steve Meyer please stay there what’s the match and he was gaga
17 Jan 2010, 20:43 pm
@Charlie: really?
I dont know much about him…..how did Juandre Kruger play?
17 Jan 2010, 21:11 pm
@grant10 this time round you can believe Keo’s report, maybe this is a copy and paste job
17 Jan 2010, 21:59 pm
Brent Russell came on against the Ospreys for Floch in the 68th minute, he wasn’t an unused sub.
Antonie Classen isn’t a lock, he’s a No.8/6 and he was excellent against Leinster.
@grant10: there’s a great Jean De Villiers interview in the London times, you should have a read if you get a chance, top guy.
timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/rugby_union/article6991105.ece
17 Jan 2010, 22:06 pm
there must be clandestine quotas in ireland, how else can you explain jean de villiers not being in the starting line up every game? Here in south africa this is unheard of, any coach that would put such a class player on the bench would be admitted for pschiatric evaluation and summarily sent to the looney bin.
17 Jan 2010, 22:10 pm
“Luke Watson gave a strong performance for Bath from the back of the scrum, carrying strongly and contesting well at the breakdown.”
why how now Ryan? Why the compliments?
17 Jan 2010, 22:25 pm
Stop kidding yourself Grant.
The best sa loosie in the world… haha.
The best 5-10 SA loosies in the world play in SA mate.
Who cares a stuff about what the 12th best is doing.
17 Jan 2010, 22:39 pm
@Big Hit: excellent interview with jean de villiers! Thanks for the link Big Hit.
So part of the reason Jean left is the under-performance of the Stormers, the man has standards.
17 Jan 2010, 22:51 pm
@Transformation: I thought this part was real talk:
The injuries have been horrific and educational. He looks down to his knees, and muses, “Okay, where do I start? Yeah, right knee medial ligament, out for two months. Dislocation of the patella on my left knee, six months; right knee patella, another six months; left knee again, medial and cruciate, nine months.”
They were just the knees. He’s had a shoulder reconstruction and that ruptured bicep and every so often he wonders how he’ll feel at 50. Will he still consider the game was worth the candle? What he knows is that the endless months of rehabilitation taught him more than any rugby coach.
“I found out about myself, about rugby and about life. The lessons you learn while injured cannot be learned in any other way. Rugby can be cruel. You love it but it can be taken away just like that and when the game is taken away, everything gets taken with it; the name in the paper, the win bonuses, the joy of the life you are living, the privilege.
“The injuries were a particular jolt to me because I’d represented every single Western Province team and age group and I’d never had to work that hard for what I got. Then you’re in rehab and there’s no one watching. It is you and that machine and no one cheers when you do a particularly gruelling set of exercises. But those drops of sweat are worth much more than any sweat you’ve ever shed.
“Alone in the gym you realise the life you had as a rugby player is plastic, not real. The people who cheer, the acclamation, the fame; it doesn’t mean a thing. You survive because of the pillars in your life; your family, your close friends, your spiritual faith; they get you through the difficult times. And you learn that a rugby career is short and you have to value it. You’ll be there for a few years, then there will be a new kid competing for your place and he will be just as big and just as quick as you.”
17 Jan 2010, 22:58 pm
@Big Hit: i agree fully…that was straight up real talk for real.
Keo must line him up for an autobiography, by the looks of things it will be a best-seller.
17 Jan 2010, 23:13 pm
@Big Hit: havent read the whole interview yet, but the part you posted Big Hit shows the humility of the man.. its refreshing to see…thats a horror roll call of injuries
17 Jan 2010, 23:54 pm
Jean, Luke, Wiaan, BJ and (a fit) Ricky are the only real classy players of the SA overseas contingent mentioned in the report. The others (including CJ) are either has beens or never beens who are not missed.
Wtf is Retief Uys?
18 Jan 2010, 00:06 am
@Robzim: Jean, Luke and Ricky
18 Jan 2010, 00:53 am
I watched Mujati play today – he’s starting to get a lot more work done in the loose now.
18 Jan 2010, 07:14 am
@Robzim: Hi Rob
I reckon a few players overseas would be close to Bok selection….as you say a fit Ricky,Wiaan,BJ, CJ [ i still rate him ] ,Joe Van Niekerk, Luke ,Butch….
But a lot more would strengthen Super 14 squads as well…Wepener,Juandre Kruger,Mujati, a….
In fact i bet i could put an overseas SA squad together for the super 14 that would be competetive in the Super 14….and probably give the SA based franchises a good run for there money…
18 Jan 2010, 08:42 am
@Yetirat:
I still think Mujati has a big future in Bok rugby. The move up north will really polish up his play and we’ll have a formidable number 3
18 Jan 2010, 08:49 am
Please stay in the UK for the rest of your life Luke, we don’t need or want you back in SA.
I would love a player like Shaun Sowerby back in SA though.
18 Jan 2010, 11:01 am
“Highly rated South African No 8 Antonie Claassen was below par by his standards”
Nope he was just dominated by the best No 8 in the world Jamie Heaslip, who was man of the match yet again.
18 Jan 2010, 11:26 am
I hope the bulls get juandre kruger back as they should have never let him go in the first place that was a big mistake as i think he would have been be a natural replacement for bakkies, as he is a big strong lock in the bakkies mould and would have been a good backup lock for the bulls in this years competitions.Get him back if possible as he is better than steenkamp or vdmerwe.
18 Jan 2010, 13:34 pm
@blueboy: agree….
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