This is in certain ways a follow-up piece to my earlier article about Rugby vs Cricket. I want to see how many sportsmen I can think of who did extremely well in both rugby and cricket, even if it was at school level. The only restriction is that they should have at least played for their province's Craven Week Rugby team and/or made the Nuffield Cricket Team! It does not have to be only South African sportsmen, but international sportsmen too.
I will start my list with one of my cricketing heroes, whom I hear commentating on Radio 2000 regularly - the great Peter Kirsten.
Peter Kirsten History: (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Kirsten)
Kirsten first attended Selborne Primary in East London, and in 1966 scored his first century at the age of ten. In 1967 the family moved to Cape Town and Kirsten was enrolled at the oldest school in the country, South African College School, also known as SACS.
Kirsten represented Western Province at schools level in both rugby (Craven Week 1972-73) and cricket (Nuffield Week 1971-72-73). Kirsten made his debut for Western Province in first class cricket while still at school, scoring 72 runs in the second innings. At the end of the 1973 Nuffield Week, he was selected for the South African Schools team. In the subsequent match against the Northern Transvaal first class team he scored a century. He became only the fifth schoolboy to achieve this feat.
Kirsten became a professional cricketer in 1978. He played for Derbyshire from 1978 to 1982 in 106 matches, scoring 7,722 runs at an average of 49.50. In South Africa he played for Western Province in 133 matches, scoring 9,087 runs at an average of 41.88. He captained Western Province for three seasons during the 1980s, achieving the first class and One Day Tournament series double in 1981-82.
In 1974, Kirsten played flyhalf for Western Province under-20 in a curtain raiser to the first test between the Springboks and the British and Irish Lions at Newlands Stadium in Cape Town. In wet conditions his ball handling abilities so impressed journalist John Reason, that special mention of this was made in his book, The Unbeaten Lions. Kirsten, aged 19, was selected to play for the Quaggas against the touring Lions. He scored 12 points as his team was defeated by 16 – 20. Following the Lions-Quagga game, he was duly selected to play for the Western Province rugby team, but in only his third match, he severely damaged his knee. It would take him out of rugby permanently.
Morne du Plessis - I am a huge fan of this sporting hero and gentleman.
Morne du Plessis sporting history: (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morne_du_Plessis)
Du Plessis matriculated from Grey College, Bloemfontein in 1966, where he had excelled at cricket more than at rugby. While he was not chosen for the Free State Craven Week side,[15] he was included in the 1966 South African Schools XI as a seam bowler.[16] He first played fly-half at school, but was moved to centre to make room for future Springbok Dawie Snyman.[12]
At Stellenbosch Du Plessis was initially more interested in cricket than rugby; he had chosen to go there because of his desire to play in the university cricket team.[19] In 1971 his prowess at cricket earned him selection to the South African Universities cricket side,[16] and then to the Western Province team during that same year. Playing five first-class cricket matches as a right-arm medium pace bowler, he took 16 wickets at an average of 25.62 runs per wicket, and turned in a best performance of 4 wickets for 71 runs.[20] But when Barry Richards, opening batsman of the South African and of the Natal cricket sides, hit Du Plessis for two sixes in the final over before lunch during a Castle Cup match between Western Province and Natal, he decided that perhaps he should rather concentrate on rugby.[19]
He recalled, " 'when you go to Stellenbosch to play cricket, it is like going to India to play rugby' ".
Du Plessis made his test debut with the 1971 Springboks touring party that went to Australia for a three test series. In 1976 he led the Springboks in a tough four-test series against the All Blacks. The Springboks won the first test 16–7, but lost the second 15–9. But Du Plessis and his men bounced back in the third test, winning 15–10. The Springboks took the victory in a 15–14 win over the New Zealanders in the fourth and final test. The following year he led the Springboks to victory, 45–24, over a World XV side in Pretoria.
Du Plessis captained the Springboks to a 3–1 victory in 1980's home test series against the British Lions[30] and led the team on the 1980 South Africa rugby union tour of South America in October although an injury sustained in a Currie Cup match restricted him to just two matches, including only one of the internationals against the South American Jaguars.[31] Du Plessis's sudden decision to stop playing rugby before the 1981 tour to New Zealand was motivated by a combination of mental fatigue and the death of his Western Province team-mate, full-back Chris Burger in a Currie Cup match. Playing under Du Plessis' leadership against Free State at Bloemfontein in 1980, 28-year old Burger died after incurring a neck injury, sustained either while being tackled by two players or during the subsequent loose scrum.[19][32] Craven tried to convince Du Plessis to continue playing, and remained convinced that if Du Plessis had made himself available for the tour, South Africa would have won the series.[21]
In all Du Plessis played in 32 matches for South Africa, and was on the winning side 18 times in 22 tests. Under his captaincy the Springboks won thirteen matches and lost only twice.
My list will not be complete without Naas Botha - he singlehandedly beat my beloved WP team on numerous occasions in the 80's with his golden boot, but I had immense respect for his rugby talent regardless!
Naas Botha sporting history: (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naas_Botha)
As a child, Botha aspired to playing professional baseball and applied for a sport scholarship in the United States. Botha was also an excellent schools cricket and tennis player and also a hurdles athlete.
However, Botha was selected to play for the South African under-20 rugby team, where he caught the eye of the selectors while still a student at the University of Pretoria.[3] As a result, Botha played his first Test for the Springboks on 26 April 1980 at the age of 22 in the flyhalf position against South America at Wanderers, Johannesburg.
Botha remained the highest points scorer in Springbok rugby history for a number of years, with a points total of 312, until 17 July 2004, when his tally was passed by Percy Montgomery. However, Montgomery passed him in his 50th match, while Botha had only played in 28.
One of the bowlers I tried to imitate as a youngster was Garth le Roux. He was an excellent fast bowler for Western Province and South Africa with an amazing bowling action. I read Rob Louw's (WP & Bok flanker) biography years ago and there Louw mentions that Le Roux, a schoolmate, played in their WP Craven Week rugby team as a lock!
Le Roux had a successful county career with Sussex from 1978 to 1987, playing for the county against New Zealand in 1978 and Australia in 1985. In South Africa he played Currie Cup cricket forWestern Province between 1975 and 1989 and was cricketer of the year in 1978, 1986 and 1987. He represented South Africa in 15 unofficial "Tests", taking a hat-trick against the Australian XI in 1986. Le Roux also played in 29 List A matches for South Africa.
I will start my list with one of my cricketing heroes, whom I hear commentating on Radio 2000 regularly - the great Peter Kirsten.
Peter Kirsten History: (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Kirsten)
Kirsten first attended Selborne Primary in East London, and in 1966 scored his first century at the age of ten. In 1967 the family moved to Cape Town and Kirsten was enrolled at the oldest school in the country, South African College School, also known as SACS.
Kirsten represented Western Province at schools level in both rugby (Craven Week 1972-73) and cricket (Nuffield Week 1971-72-73). Kirsten made his debut for Western Province in first class cricket while still at school, scoring 72 runs in the second innings. At the end of the 1973 Nuffield Week, he was selected for the South African Schools team. In the subsequent match against the Northern Transvaal first class team he scored a century. He became only the fifth schoolboy to achieve this feat.
Kirsten became a professional cricketer in 1978. He played for Derbyshire from 1978 to 1982 in 106 matches, scoring 7,722 runs at an average of 49.50. In South Africa he played for Western Province in 133 matches, scoring 9,087 runs at an average of 41.88. He captained Western Province for three seasons during the 1980s, achieving the first class and One Day Tournament series double in 1981-82.
Peter Kirsten was a very good flyhalf early on and played for Western Province u/20's in 1974. He scored the most runs for South Africa and during the entire Cricket World Cup of 1992 (SA's first ever ODI WC where they reached the semi's!)
In 1974, Kirsten played flyhalf for Western Province under-20 in a curtain raiser to the first test between the Springboks and the British and Irish Lions at Newlands Stadium in Cape Town. In wet conditions his ball handling abilities so impressed journalist John Reason, that special mention of this was made in his book, The Unbeaten Lions. Kirsten, aged 19, was selected to play for the Quaggas against the touring Lions. He scored 12 points as his team was defeated by 16 – 20. Following the Lions-Quagga game, he was duly selected to play for the Western Province rugby team, but in only his third match, he severely damaged his knee. It would take him out of rugby permanently.
Morne du Plessis - I am a huge fan of this sporting hero and gentleman.
Morne du Plessis sporting history: (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morne_du_Plessis)
Du Plessis matriculated from Grey College, Bloemfontein in 1966, where he had excelled at cricket more than at rugby. While he was not chosen for the Free State Craven Week side,[15] he was included in the 1966 South African Schools XI as a seam bowler.[16] He first played fly-half at school, but was moved to centre to make room for future Springbok Dawie Snyman.[12]
At Stellenbosch Du Plessis was initially more interested in cricket than rugby; he had chosen to go there because of his desire to play in the university cricket team.[19] In 1971 his prowess at cricket earned him selection to the South African Universities cricket side,[16] and then to the Western Province team during that same year. Playing five first-class cricket matches as a right-arm medium pace bowler, he took 16 wickets at an average of 25.62 runs per wicket, and turned in a best performance of 4 wickets for 71 runs.[20] But when Barry Richards, opening batsman of the South African and of the Natal cricket sides, hit Du Plessis for two sixes in the final over before lunch during a Castle Cup match between Western Province and Natal, he decided that perhaps he should rather concentrate on rugby.[19]
He recalled, " 'when you go to Stellenbosch to play cricket, it is like going to India to play rugby' ".
Du Plessis made his test debut with the 1971 Springboks touring party that went to Australia for a three test series. In 1976 he led the Springboks in a tough four-test series against the All Blacks. The Springboks won the first test 16–7, but lost the second 15–9. But Du Plessis and his men bounced back in the third test, winning 15–10. The Springboks took the victory in a 15–14 win over the New Zealanders in the fourth and final test. The following year he led the Springboks to victory, 45–24, over a World XV side in Pretoria.
Du Plessis captained the Springboks to a 3–1 victory in 1980's home test series against the British Lions[30] and led the team on the 1980 South Africa rugby union tour of South America in October although an injury sustained in a Currie Cup match restricted him to just two matches, including only one of the internationals against the South American Jaguars.[31] Du Plessis's sudden decision to stop playing rugby before the 1981 tour to New Zealand was motivated by a combination of mental fatigue and the death of his Western Province team-mate, full-back Chris Burger in a Currie Cup match. Playing under Du Plessis' leadership against Free State at Bloemfontein in 1980, 28-year old Burger died after incurring a neck injury, sustained either while being tackled by two players or during the subsequent loose scrum.[19][32] Craven tried to convince Du Plessis to continue playing, and remained convinced that if Du Plessis had made himself available for the tour, South Africa would have won the series.[21]
In all Du Plessis played in 32 matches for South Africa, and was on the winning side 18 times in 22 tests. Under his captaincy the Springboks won thirteen matches and lost only twice.
My list will not be complete without Naas Botha - he singlehandedly beat my beloved WP team on numerous occasions in the 80's with his golden boot, but I had immense respect for his rugby talent regardless!
Naas Botha sporting history: (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naas_Botha)
As a child, Botha aspired to playing professional baseball and applied for a sport scholarship in the United States. Botha was also an excellent schools cricket and tennis player and also a hurdles athlete.
However, Botha was selected to play for the South African under-20 rugby team, where he caught the eye of the selectors while still a student at the University of Pretoria.[3] As a result, Botha played his first Test for the Springboks on 26 April 1980 at the age of 22 in the flyhalf position against South America at Wanderers, Johannesburg.
Danie Craven once said, "Give me Naas, and I'll conquer the world!"
Botha remained the highest points scorer in Springbok rugby history for a number of years, with a points total of 312, until 17 July 2004, when his tally was passed by Percy Montgomery. However, Montgomery passed him in his 50th match, while Botha had only played in 28.
Test Cap Record: Played 28, Won 19, Lost 9
Test Points: 312
Tries: 2
Penalties: 50
Conversions: 50
Drop Goals: 18
One of the bowlers I tried to imitate as a youngster was Garth le Roux. He was an excellent fast bowler for Western Province and South Africa with an amazing bowling action. I read Rob Louw's (WP & Bok flanker) biography years ago and there Louw mentions that Le Roux, a schoolmate, played in their WP Craven Week rugby team as a lock!
Garth le Roux
sporting history: (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Le_Roux)
Le Roux was a powerful fast bowler and big hitting tail-end batsman, scoring 26 half centuries in his career. His career coincided with South Africa's ban from international cricket, and he did not play official Test cricket.
After making his first class debut, Le Roux played for South African Universities in 1976–77. During the 1977–78 season, he took 53 Currie Cup wickets and was invited to play for Sussex. Playing for Sussex, he was recruited to play World Series Cricket in Australia where he joined fellow exiles and countrymen, Eddie Barlow, Mike Procter, Clive Rice and Barry Richards. Deprived of international cricket because of the sporting ban due to Apartheid, the South Africans were desperate to do well. With his hostile action and speed, he won the Man of the Series award.
Le Roux had a successful county career with Sussex from 1978 to 1987, playing for the county against New Zealand in 1978 and Australia in 1985. In South Africa he played Currie Cup cricket forWestern Province between 1975 and 1989 and was cricketer of the year in 1978, 1986 and 1987. He represented South Africa in 15 unofficial "Tests", taking a hat-trick against the Australian XI in 1986. Le Roux also played in 29 List A matches for South Africa.
As I started with this article, I thought I would be done with my list in no time, but as I progressed, I started to realise that there are many more international rugby and cricket players who excelled in both these sports. Therefore, I concluded that this article will only be Part I in this series ... please add your own names of sportsmen that you can think of - perhaps I do not have them on my list as yet?
In Part II and III, I will be discussing the following sportsmen:
Allan Lamb
Gerbrandt Grobler
Dave Callaghan
Gary Kirsten
Jeff Wilson
Hansie Cronje
Herschelle Gibbs
Jacques Kallis
and more...
1 comment:
Ray Mordt played Rugby for Rhodesia and South Africa but he also represented Rhodesia at Baseball
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