Captain Chris grabs the bull by the horns
WHILE professional rugby franchises and players scrambled last week in sorting out contracts for the forthcoming (or not) Super and Currie Cup seasons, fans were also preparing for the sport’s resumption.
None more so than Blue Bulls fanatic and the esteemed SAPS Dog Unit member, Captain Chris de Wet, known especially for his groundbreaking training of a sniffer crocodile for police search and rescue efforts in dams and rivers (ZO April Fools’ article published in 2014).
Chris’s passion for the Pretoria-based team knows no bounds, and apart from every room of his Birdswood home – in Bulbul Bend of course - being adorned with all kinds of Blue Bulls paraphernalia, he literally parades his passion in the open for all to see.
Six years ago, Chris acquired a halfsize fibreglass blue bull, especially made by renowned Pretoria sculptor Kobus Hattingh.
Painted bright blue, of course, it has taken pride of place in his front yard ever since.
Alas, like his team, the fibreglass statue has deteriorated over time, so Chris last week hauled out his DIY kit, paint and brushes and has given it a makeover any self-respecting bovine would be proud of.
Blessed with a good memory along with a great sense of humour, Chris still recalls when the Bulls last won the Currie Cup, as far back as 2009.
They have apparently been under selfimposed lockdown since then, but the ever-optimistic supporter believes this will be his team’s big year, especially under the massive influence of 2007 World Cup winning coach Jake White.
Come what may, he will continue to dream and hold his breath until he is blue in the face.