Lions grab Wikus
18 Jan 2010
Wikus van Heerden will join the Lions in time for this year’s Currie Cup.
On Friday Van Heerden confirmed that he’ll leave Saracens at the end of the northern hemisphere season, and although reports suggested he could return to the Bulls, on Monday the GLRU announced that Van Heerden would feature for the Lions. Although Van Heerden won the Super 14 with the Bulls, he originally played for the Lions and has now signed a deal with them until the end of 2012.
‘The Lions have always been a very special team to me,’ said Van Heerden. ‘I spent nine years at the Lions before moving over to the Bulls. At that stage I needed a change. With all the changes at the Lions now and with the new people appointed, this is an exciting and ideal opportunity for me to make the most of what is left of my rugby career.
‘And who knows, maybe I can be a part of a winning Super 14 or Currie Cup team while at the Lions. Since I left the Lions I’ve grown as a player and have gathered much experience at both the Bulls and Saracens. I am hoping to utilise this experience and make an impact when I join the Lions later this year.’
Van Heerden is the second player with international experience signed by the union in recent weeks, and will team up with Carlos Spencer in the domestic competition.
‘It’s always good to sign a new player, but when it’s a former star player returning, it makes it a little more special,’ said CEO Manie Reyneke. ‘Wikus returning is exciting, and we see this as just one more step in the right direction for the GLRU.’
The 2007 World Cup-winner has also made no secret of his hopes of forcing his way back into the South African squad for the global showpiece in 2011, and this move will provide him with ample time to prove himself to Peter de Villiers.
68 Comments
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18 Jan 2010, 14:22 pm
Good move Dragons
18 Jan 2010, 14:26 pm
Awesome! Cant wait to see him back! And im a sharks fan!!
18 Jan 2010, 14:26 pm
No Wickus, you can’t play, you’re a Bok remember
18 Jan 2010, 14:27 pm
Nice for the Lion Dragons that will give them some stability with a few decent signings thus far.
lets hope that they can be come competitive this season but history tells me that a team needs to settle down for a few seasons to start the winning etho.
The Lions players have been mismanaged badly in the past few years and i think Dickie is too busy to assume the director of coching role. i would have loved to have seen H Meyer in the mix, he is a fantastic coach.
18 Jan 2010, 14:30 pm
Luckily mr. Heyneke Meyer is back where he belongs, @ the BULLS !!!
18 Jan 2010, 14:32 pm
If the Stormers and Lions come good this year, its going to be a great S14. Cant wait, only 3 more weeks!!!!!
18 Jan 2010, 14:40 pm
@Blouste:
Meyer is now the executive director of coach and will work on many other areas and not the head coach.
I would have liked to see the impact he would have had in the Lions set which would have raised the depth of Rugga in SA.
Meyer is a master, still think he should be Bok coach.
18 Jan 2010, 14:40 pm
ha ha ha so much for Heyneke Meyer being a drawcard for players
nice one wikus…
Move over Baywatch, Prawnville has a new Sheriff…
18 Jan 2010, 14:41 pm
@Fidget: bro, if the Lions come good this year, i’ll eat my shorts. Muir will do ok with this team over the next few years if he’s given the chance, but i reckon they’re destined for 14th this season. it’s just a very weak squad.
18 Jan 2010, 14:45 pm
First decent buy.Good on u Lions.Now if u can pair Wikus up with young Johan van Deventer at 6&7 and play the skilled Mukoena at 8 then ur on to something.Leave Baywatch,Clever and rest to go look for payday overseas.Minnie to challenge incumbents
18 Jan 2010, 14:49 pm
@Fidget:
I knew that much…
But also read that Heineke is very much part of the training and coaching setup currently, together with Ludeke
18 Jan 2010, 14:49 pm
@toughnrumble: Lets be a bit hopefull. I’m a stormers supporter but it would be nice to see the Lions get better this season, even if they are able to beat a few teams from our counterparts at home.
Have to agree though, would not bet my money on them improving that much, especially on tour.
18 Jan 2010, 14:50 pm
In fact, I think he is going to make an immense difference at the forwards again…
18 Jan 2010, 14:52 pm
Fact is the better all the SA teams do, the better for all of our local franchises…
So go on and take those points away from the oversea based teams
18 Jan 2010, 14:55 pm
great news this for lions….i am so happy for Muir and the lions….
Agree with post 10….Johan Van Deventer an exciting fetcher , in the Brussow mould….drop the journeymen Baywatch and play Wikus as captain with Mokuea at 8….
Now Lions need a classy hooker and lock….and 1 more back….
Bobs your aunt.
18 Jan 2010, 15:13 pm
Another quite day in paradise !!!
Ex-Bok’s home petrol bombed
2010-01-18 14:46Email | Print
Home petrol bombed (File)
Cape Town – Former Springbok hooker Dale Santon is in hospital recovering from burns after a petrol bomb was flung into his house.
Santon, 40, was trying to push a burning couch out of the house on Saturday morning when he sustained the injuries to his hands, forearms and face.
Cops believe the occupants of an orange BMW may be behind the arson attack on the Plumstead house.
Diep River police spokesperson Keith Chandler told the Daily Voice there were two occupants in the car.
One is believed to have stood in front of the house for a few minutes before setting an object alight and flinging it at a window.
“The police responded to the complaint at about 00:30 on Saturday morning,” said Chandler. “The bomb broke the lounge window and set the couch alight.”
Chandler said Santon was clueless as to who would want to kill him.
“He is a rugby coach for under-privileged children and he told the police he has no enemies,” says Chandler.
When the Daily Voice visited the house, the occupants refused to comment.
18 Jan 2010, 15:15 pm
@justrugby: good heavens!!
18 Jan 2010, 15:16 pm
@justrugby:
Sad realy.
18 Jan 2010, 15:20 pm
@grant10: @Blouste:
Yip, sad a good word to describe it !!
18 Jan 2010, 15:24 pm
Wickus a brliiant aquisition for the Lions !!!
Well done **** !!
18 Jan 2010, 15:29 pm
@grant10:
Who the hell is that Mokuea?
18 Jan 2010, 15:31 pm
@Hondo: Mokuena? Griquas captain….sorry…my spelling…and typing…is very kak…
18 Jan 2010, 15:38 pm
The Lions haven’t replace the big bodies of Anton V. Zyl andAlbert yet, nor any replacement at hooker for Wepener and Reyneke.
Wikus of 2003/4 is well past it, he may have some added value as a captain but that’s about it
18 Jan 2010, 15:45 pm
I know, the Lions are still going to take some time to get things going.
Jaque Fourie is my neighbour, he told me last year that things have never been worse in the Lion’s camp, broken promises to players and down right horrific managemen.
Things can only get better with these changes.
18 Jan 2010, 15:48 pm
Wikus is only joining them after the S14, so no impact on this year’s tournament.
Also, since the Currie Cup will be without Boks, it is largely irrelevent who wins it. So the first real sign of his impact will be in next year’s S15.
It is obvious why he went to the Lions. At the Bulls the focus seems to be on mobile loose forwards, and Wikus isn’t exactly the quickest around the park. I don’t think he would have been guaranteed a starting berth or even a spot in the match 22 given that we have Spies, Potgieter, Stegman, Kuun and Wannenburg available.
I think the bottleneck is just too tight for Wikus to be a worthwhile purchase for the Bulls at this time.
Good luck to him at the Lions. He made a valued contribution to every team he has played for, and I’m sure he will do the same at Coke Park once more.
18 Jan 2010, 15:53 pm
@grant10:
Forgive him, for he knows not any name of any black player.
18 Jan 2010, 16:43 pm
@Tacitus: “…largely irrelevant who wins the CC”? Sounds like you’re getting your excuses in nice and early this year. I bet you’re bookmarking this keo entry for future I-told-you-so’s.
18 Jan 2010, 16:45 pm
This is a very astute move by the Lions.
18 Jan 2010, 16:53 pm
@katman:
Relax Katman. I think this is a good buy for the Lions. They need the talismanic presence of a stalwart like Wikus to symbolize their revival.
As far as the Currie Cup is concerned, I need to make one thing clear:
I have never claimed that the Bulls minus their Boks are good enough to beat the Cheetahs minus their one and a half Boks.
I freely admit that if you take the top Boks out of the equation, the Cheetahs are better than the Bulls. Any sane person would admit as much. After all, it is the bulk of the Bulls team we’re talking about here.
So if the Boks aren’t participating, I don’t see much point in stressing about the outcome of the watered down competition.
The Cheetahs or Lions will win it, or maybe the Stormers. But the Bulls and Sharks will not be in contention.
If they are, then it will be an utter bonus, and not something to be expected.
18 Jan 2010, 17:02 pm
@Tacitus:
Er…so the Bulls have no depth, then?
18 Jan 2010, 17:06 pm
Is Afrikaner Bulle herbivore?
18 Jan 2010, 17:07 pm
@WP Till I Die:
You are quite correct, WP. The Bulls don’t have the depth to STILL be better than all the rest when they’re missing their top 8 or 9 players.
Damn, what a puny team they are…
Nah, let the kids play while the big boys are away.
18 Jan 2010, 17:10 pm
Good for Wikus.
Always an underrated player that. Could well force his way into the Bok squad.
18 Jan 2010, 17:13 pm
@Tacitus:
Why is there such a massive gap between your first team and your second team, relative to other teams? That is the relevant question…
18 Jan 2010, 17:14 pm
@WP Till I Die:
Ag, ignore it.
18 Jan 2010, 17:18 pm
Tavares – Heaven must be missin’ an angel
18 Jan 2010, 17:30 pm
But who can/could sing like Barry White?
Let the music play …
18 Jan 2010, 17:48 pm
Lou Rawls – You will never find
[ Dont worry it, if you know these, it will mean something ]
18 Jan 2010, 17:52 pm
It would be good to see all the CC second teams (Cheetahs,Sharks WP,Blue Bulls, Lions…..) play each other and actually see who has got the best second stringers.
18 Jan 2010, 18:59 pm
@JA-JA:
Vodacom Cup is closest to that.
18 Jan 2010, 21:23 pm
hmmm so the prodigal son wants to return.
I do not know about this I still feel the hurt inside when he left the sinking ship … before Loffie completed his 3 year plan. Then his wife came out of the closet to reveal her deep childhood love for the blue shirt and the Barberton daisy … eeew!
So Wikus I ask will you ‘force’ your loved ones to renounce all that is blue in favor for Golden Lions red? If yes then welcome back and roar!
18 Jan 2010, 21:25 pm
if no then there may be trouble in paradise.
18 Jan 2010, 21:29 pm
aaawww good for the Lions! They have 1 rugby player!
18 Jan 2010, 21:31 pm
@SpringbokSarah: errrm you mean 1 Bok rugby player.
18 Jan 2010, 21:31 pm
to join our other Bok, that monster of a prop Heinke
18 Jan 2010, 22:10 pm
Ahhh Wikus welcome home son, I am so pleased, “the times they are a changing” now, one Mr. Joe van Nieckerk hear the siren call of the park lol
18 Jan 2010, 22:18 pm
Summon the ghosts of 93-95 hear them talk to you boys, remember that Ellis Park is the Bok temple and that you have to come good cause we are under the cosh boys, Southern Kings breathing down our necks, may the Ghost of Christie ride with you young men as you face down the toughest competition in the Southern Hemisphere and world rugby, remember its only impossible till someone does it lol
19 Jan 2010, 00:05 am
Wickus is clever. He wants to get picked for the Boks again.
So he comes home.
He could just go back to the Bulls, but they have lots of good players and plenty loosies. And he wants to get noticed.
So he signs for a rubbish team, where he WILL be far and away their best player.
He plays the ‘This is my real home’ card and out comes the ‘prodical son’ BS.
Smart move Wickus, smart move.
It will probably work too!
19 Jan 2010, 00:10 am
@RedLion: huh? no. 1 rugby player… and didn’t we steal your Bok?
19 Jan 2010, 00:29 am
Well, WP maybe there is something to your argument, but I reckon Wikus could have gone to the Bulls and it would have been a more effective launching pad for Bok selection, coulda stayed in the UK making horbols more cash, but just happy that he the lions managed to recruit a really outstanding player, between him and the King could be the kind of guidance that the youngsters need, time will tell
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