Thought for the day

Why do you think the old stories tell of men who set out on great journeys to impress the gods? Because trying to impress people just isn’t worth the time and effort.

- Henry Rollins THE LAST two occasions the Springboks hosted the All Blacks in Pretoria the visitors behaved rather rudely, trashing Loftus Versfeld to the tune of 16-52 in

2003 and three years later crushing Jake White’s Boks 45-26.

But it is the former rout that everybody remembers and which lives on in infamy because the Boks were utterly and unforgettably vanquished.

Remember the Jan van Riebeeck jokes ...? That match was just three months out from the Rugby World Cup in Australia where the Boks were lined up to play the New Zealanders in the quarter-final in Melbourne (it was a given that South Africa would lose to a potent England team in their Pool match to finish second and play the winners of the New Zealand group).

The message drummed into the Highveld turf that forlorn afternoon was that the Boks would be no more than also-rans at the World Cup and would perish in the quarters. It all came sadly to pass, with the All Blacks barely breaking sweat in winning 29-9.

After that beating at Loftus, Corne Krige commented that he had been horrified to see certain teammates give up in the Springbok jersey. The unfortunate captain was most certainly not one of them, nor was left wing Ashwin Willemse, who fought bravely and was rewarded with the Boks’ sole try, at the death.

Rightly or wrongly, controversy has dogged Willemse post rugby but when he was a player he was unquestionably world class.

Krige, mortified by the events at Loftus, reportedly had his players pledge to do 52 push-ups a day until the teams next met. Of course, he was whistling in the wind ... some things just cannot change in three months.

Krige aptly named his autobiography “The Right Place at the Wrong Time,” alluding to the fact that Springbok rugby was in a very bad place between the 1999 and 2003 World Cups. It was an era where South Africa had few star players and plenty of mediocre ones. It periodically happens. For frantic coach Rudolf Straeuli, it was lean pickings, which largely explains why there were so many one-cap wonders around that time.

Straeuli, a Springbok sentimentalist, (vainly) scoured the land in search of rough diamonds. He was convinced hulking beasts were lurking undiscovered in forgotten dorps. He dug for coal in Witbank, for instance, where he unearthed (remember them?) Pierre Uys, Marco Wentzel and Christo Bezuidenhout, the latter making his debut at age 33 as a loosehead prop that was going to destroy the England front row in the Pool decider ...

Barren times indeed ... the only manna falling from heaven being Springbok caps as Straeuli’s restless search raged on.

In mitigation of Straeuli, among the misfires that black day in Pretoria were some future heavy artillery in Bakkies Botha, Victor Matfield, Juan Smith and Wikus van Heerden, all of whom went on to win the World Cup in France in 2007.

The total caps in that starting side was just 266. White’s team three years later had just short of double that number, which would explain why they had the wherewithal to one week later turn the tables on the All Blacks in the infamous Battle of Bafokeng in Rustenburg.

The Loftus loss that year was the fifth in the row for the Boks and they went to the Royal Bafokeng Stadium with their coach in the sights of the SA Rugby firing squad.

John Smit famously said after that 21-20 win, secured by a lastminute Andre Pretorius penalty, that his players were so “gatvol” of losing that they “no longer gave a damn” and they played with a fitting ferocity. The All Blacks responded in kind and the result was a throwback to the amateur era when anything went in Old Foe matches.

One year later the Springboks were world champions. DELPORTSHOOP The SAPS Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit in Galeshewe has requested the community’s help in tracing two men who can assist the police in solving a case involving the rape and robbery of an 18 year old girl.

Police spokesperson, Sergeant Majang Skalkie, said the complainant was walking alone in 7de Laan location in Delportshoop on her way to a friend’s home on February 24, at about 3am, when she was approached by two unknown men.

She said the suspects were dressed in black jeans and black hoody tracksuits and hid their faces with caps and scarves.

Skalkie said that it is alleged that one of the suspects grabbed the girl from behind and robbed her of her cellphone while the other threatened her with a knife, before they both raped her.

One of the suspects was described as being a coloured male aged between 30 and 35 years, of slender build and dark in complexion.

The police have appealed to anyone who may have information about the incident or may know the location of these men to please contact Constable Rosy Motsepo at the Galeshewe Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit on 079 151 1239 or the Crime Stop line on 080 600 1011.

All information will be strictly treated as confidential.

HOPETOWN Four men were arrested and charged for the theft of copper cables from farms in the Hopetown and Petrusville areas.

Police spokesperson, Captain Sergio Kock, said the suspects were caught red-handed in the veld on September 27 by the police, close to Deel 4 Farm near Hopetown, after copper cables were stolen from an irrigation pump.

He added that burnt copper cables and copper theft tools were buried not far from the scene.

Kock stated that the estimated value of the copper was R30 000.

He added that the police were investigating six other copper theft cases in the area.

Kock said that the suspects Masome Molemane, 36, Klaas van Rooyen, 22, Andre Kasper, 21 and Kevin Kol, 19 - appeared briefly in the Hopetown District Court on Monday.

The case was postponed until October 8 for a formal bail application. “The investigation continues.”