Former rugby star ‘feeds the hungry’

Pretoria: Former Bulls and Springbok No 8 Pierre Spies is helping make a significant difference to those in need during the ongoing South African Covid-19 lockdown.

Spies, who hung up his boots in 2017, has been involved in recent years as an intern pastor, motivational speaker and life coach at the Christian Revival Church (CRC) Pretoria.

During the lockdown, the church’s ‘Cares’ community outreach programme has focused on providing food to underprivileged communities.

“The preparations for the distribution of food parcels during the lockdown didn’t take long as we’ve always been involved in feeding schemes,” Spies told the Rugby Rocks website.

“We have just increased our capacity in terms of what we can provide. Our goal is to provide food for a total of 50 000 people in need. We are currently on 15 000.”

Spies, known for his strength and devastating speed for a loose forward despite his 6-foot-4, 111kg frame, concluded his career at French Top 14 giants Montpellier.

He also played 53 Tests for the Springboks, the last of which came in 2013 against Samoa at his beloved Loftus Versfeld.