My uncle, Boet Muller, was a Springbok on the 1965 tour to New Zealand, and my father and three brothers all played provincial rugby, so I grew up in a rugby family and was never far from a rugby field. But it never dawned on me that I might actually become a Springbok too, until the call came in 1994 telling me to pack my bags and get myself down to Cape Town to fly out to New Zealand because Pieter Muller was injured.
I was lucky that I played in a strong university side at the University of Jo’burg. Had I been involved in a weaker team who knows I may have never played professional rugby let alone get capped. Francois Pienaar was our captain and seeing him and a number of other players make the step up into the Lions squad gave me a real sense of belief that I could do that, too. After missing most of ’92 after a big knee op, I came back and had a big year. We won the Super 10, as it was called then, and the Currie Cup and the majority of that side were in the Springboks side that won the 1995 World Cup.
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Denne historien er fra February 28, 2021-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
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England can find a little bit of cheer
SO HERE we are on the final day of England’s autumn international series with all of us hoping and expecting Steve Borthwick’s team to win today after three weeks of bitter disappointment.
Stop messing with Marcus - Campese
DAVID Campese believes England are going backwards under Steve Borthwick, who is ‘messing around’ with talisman Marcus Smith.
Being a Lion was the highlight of my career
I PLAYED 19 games and scored 219 points for the Lions, on the tours to South Africa in 1968 and New Zealand in 1971, but I never played in a Test and that was fair enough.
Cook's crew not fazed as they eye tilt at top half
THERE appear to be few signs of second season syndrome at Westcombe Park as captain Nick Cook reveals the group aren’t even contemplating the threat of relegation and are instead targeting a top-half finish.
Forwards pack a punch for the Reds
OLD Redcliffians produced a proud defensive effort to take a bonus-point win.
Tom 'Ailes' the achievements of inspirational skipper Riley
SEDGLEY Park No. 8 Tom Ailes says his team relish the competitive nature of National One and is confident the Tigers can rectify their rocky start to the season in weeks to come.
Strachan confident Ampthill will be firing again soon
FRASER Strachan is determined to put Ampthill’s leaky defensive showings behind them and gain some much needed confidence in the run up to Christmas.
It's a whole new ball game for Rigg
WILL Rigg’s ambition was to become a professional cricketer but it is the oval ball rather than The Oval that is his driver now.
Scarratt leads the way for Lightning
LOUGHBOROUGH won a wet and windy East Midlands Derby after having the bonus point in the bag by half-time.
Becconsall: We need to release pressure
WILL Becconsall says Exeter are not spooked by the threat of relegation as they look to turn around their Premiership campaign after starting with six straight defeats.
