Tightheads & Loose Balls
● Tightheads this week mourns the passing of young Pirates Rugby Club player Wayne Sibanda. The 21-year-old player fell ill after taking a knock to the head in a match between Pirates and NWU-Pukke in Potchefstroom last Saturday afternoon.
He died on Tuesday morning.
There was a minute’s applause for Sibanda at the club yesterday. Pirates rugby chairman Brad Guyner said there had been generous support for the Sibanda family but that more donations would be appreciated.
Anyone wishing to contribute can call Non Welsford at Pirates on (011) 646 5025.
● Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus, right, recently regaled a Bloemfontein audience about the struggle he and his Cheetahs’ teammates faced when they suddenly needed to speak English at the start of Super Rugby.
“We were on one of those six-week tours and we were sitting in this restaurant somewhere in Australia. Os (du Randt) was very excited that he had just ordered steak again after a while.
“The waitress came back to him and said: ‘Sorry sir, I forgot to ask you how you would like your steak. Medium?’ ” The mortified prop replied: “No large, I want large.”
● Bulls captain Burger Odendaal this week explained how he coped with being colour blind.
Though it isn't something with which he is overly bothered, it did bring some embarrassment earlier in his career.
“It was a bigger issue for me when I was still playing age-group rugby at the Lions. One day we played Griquas, who wore their away jersey.
“That white jersey with the stripe. I couldn’t distinguish between that jersey and the Lions’ white and red.”
And, yes, Odendaal did pass to members of the opposing team.
● He also explained why his wispy mullet and single dread, which, to be fair, didn’t find wide acclaim from the style police, was chopped off last year.
“I can’t even remember when. I think it was during the Currie Cup. It was time (to cut it). Maybe the heat in Pretoria contributed as well.
“I got tired of the long hair. It was time for change.”
● As unlikely as it may sound, but Toulouse-based Cheslin Kolbe and fellow South African Danie Mienie are in hot water for their part in a nightclub brawl.
The fight left one of the club’s financial backers in hospital with broken ribs. Apparently the backer is prepared to pull the plug if the South Africans aren’t properly dealt with.
● Makazole “Drex” Mapimpi this week posted pics of his new chariot on a social media platform.
The German saloon looks like it packs some punch. Lamentably for the Sharks, however, there weren’t pics of him scoring tries.
That’s perhaps because leading up to this weekend’s clashes Mapimpi and teammate Lwazi “Vroom Vroom” Mvovo haven’t been shifting through the gears.