Kicking buck stops with captain
SPRINGBOK captain Jean de Villiers just about managed to keep a straight face when Tightheads demanded to know at a press conference who has the final say in tight matches when the team is presented an opportunity to go for goal. “Only in a tight game?” he wanted to know in return. “I’ve got the final say. Obviously there are processes in place that we follow. We try to make the right decision and that’s not just down to me. The final one lies with me. I’ll also take the responsibility if it’s the wrong decision. Let’s hope I make the right decision on the weekend and kick for goal when I have to.”
APART from being a fine centre De Villiers, in the same press conference, also showed why, in an ambassadorial sense, he is the best-equipped man to lead the team. “My first recollection of Nelson Mandela was when he walked out of Victor Verster Prison. I grew up in Paarl and that was a few kilometres away from where I lived. It was a massive day for South Africa. After he spent that time in jail he came out and made a massive difference in this country. He succeeded in uniting South Africans through sport. It’s something not just I, but I think everybody, has to be thankful for.”
THE Sharks, according to SuperSport Blitz this week, had a surprise inclusion in their side to play the Golden Lions this weekend. Among the new faces said to take on the Lions was the team’s web master, Michael Marnewick, but he was dropped as soon as Blitz realised their glitch.
BOK tighthead Jannie du Plessis this week perhaps inadvertently described the gauntlet that props run with referees at scrum time. They can, at any time, fall on either side of the law. Said Du Plessis about what he expects in a tighthead: “A tighthead is like a silent assassin, or like a sheriff. You don’t quite know what he means to you until he isn’t there.”
TIGHTHEADS’ hearty congratulations go to Springbok PR and admin manager Annelee Murray, who celebrated her 150th test with the team this weekend. Her first test was in 2000 when the Boks were told not to kick (out of hand) against Argentina by coach Harry Viljoen and it was perhaps fitting that she celebrated her milestone against the same opposition.