Meet FAF's Biggest Fans

The Bok scrumhalf ’s parents reveal what Faf was like as a child and why they always watch big matches at home

- Jaco Hough-Coetzee

HE WAS still a tiny primary school tot when he started telling everyone he was going to be a professional sportsman, but no one could pinpoint which sport he’d choose.

Francois “Faf ” de Klerk was good at everything he tried – athletics, cricket, gymnastics, rugby, you name it. His parents supported him every step of the way, cheering him on in whatever endeavour took his fancy at the time. But not even they could’ve predicted their irrepressible son would become one of the most talked-about sportsmen in the world. Or one of the most photographed after revealing what goes on under his rugby shorts.

Still, dad Tobie (67) and mom Corrie (54) weren’t that surprised when their son greeted Britain’s Prince Harry in only his itty-bitty patriotic swimsuit.

The post-final locker-room scene reminded Corrie of a play her son was involved in during his first year at the University of Johannesburg (UJ).

“He won the prize for best actor but his character wore only a tiny strip of material down there,” she says. “After the fuss about the briefs started, I immediately thought of that ‘costume’.”

When the Springboks won the Webb Ellis Cup, Tobie and Corrie were glued to their TV screen. But unlike hundreds of thousands of South Africans who followed the game in pubs or taverns, the De Klerks chose to watch in the relative seclusion of Faf ’s half-brother Tobie Jnr’s home in Pretoria.

The couple never watch a rugby match in a public space. “Especially something like a final. It gets quite emotional. You need to be among friends so you can let the tears flow freely,” says Tobie, who works in quality control at a security company.

“People get really worked up too. I don’t like having to hear strangers boo the Boks whenever they don’t agree with what’s happening on the field.