Captain, my captain true and true
Former Bulls winger learned from inspiring leader
FORMER Bulls and Blue Bulls winger John Mametsa has joined people around the world paying tribute to the late former Springbok captain Joost van der Westhuizen by describing him as a “colossus of the game”.
Mametsa‚ who was the first black African superstar at Loftus Versfeld during his highly successful career of more than eight years between 2002 and 2010‚ said Van Westhuizen welcomed him at the Bulls without prejudice.
“When I arrived at Loftus in 2002 as a youngster‚ he was the captain and he welcomed me very well and made sure that I was properly integrated‚” he said.
“Working with him on a daily basis‚ what immediately struck was his high workrate and professionalism.
“He would sometimes be the first one to arrive and last to leave training‚ not because he was trying too hard to impress as a leader but it was simply the way he was.”
Mametsa remembered one incident soon after he arrived at Loftus when then-coach Heyneke Meyer and his technical team arrived late for training and Van der Westhuizen gave them a piece of his mind.
“Start time for training was 3pm and the coach and his technical team arrived late and he was not impressed‚ and that showed me that he was not scared to speak his mind against anyone when things were not being properly done‚” said Mametsa.
“He called them to order about timekeeping but his rant was not in any way disrespectful and there was never bad blood between them and him after that.
“He was a good leader on and off the field and I referred to him as the commander-in-chief because he commanded his troops very well.
“What I noticed more as I got to know him better was that his combination with coach Meyer was good because they got the best out of each other and that in turn rubbed on to us‚ which led to some of the success that we had as a team.”
Mametsa said it would not be farfetched to suggest that Van der Westhuizen was the best scrumhalf the game had ever seen.
This because he stood head and shoulders above his contemporaries in the era where there were No 9’s such as George Gregan of Australia and Justin Marshal of New Zealand‚ who also left an indelible mark on the game.
“He changed the number nine role because of his fearless nature and the opposition knew they were up against it when they were going to play against the Springboks and the Bulls and Blue Bulls‚” he said.
“There was also an aura about him and he gained respect from teammates and opposition alike because of his talents and how he carried himself as a consummate professional.
“I had lots of respect for him because of the way he dedicated his life to the game and the way he helped me to get my career off the ground at Loftus.”
Off the field‚ Mametsa said Van Westhuizen was humble.
He remembered an incident when the scrumhalf invited Mametsa to join him for an appearance on an Afrikaans television show.
“I was still fairly new to the team and not many people knew about me at that time but he insisted that I must join him.
“I think he wanted to introduce me to that Afrikaans audience and even though my Afrikaans was not that good‚ I enjoyed myself‚” he reminisced. — TMG