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Victor: My Journey
As one of the most capped Springboks ever, Victor Matfield is a national hero who transcends rugby provincialism and has fans across the world. His rugby exploits and achievements are numerous: he was an instrumental part of the team that won the 2007 Rugby World Cup, he helped win two Tri Nations tournaments for the Boks, he has lifted the Super 14 trophy three times with the Bulls and he has enjoyed Currie Cup glory. In his much-anticipated autobiography, he opens up about his life, from growing up as a shy boy in Pietersburg to moving to Pretoria, where he had to learn the hard way about dealing with the pleasures of life as a talented young rugby player. He talks frankly about his issues with coaches, including his mentor Heyneke Meyer, Pieter de Villiers and former Bok coach Jake White, who once tried to physically attack him. Victor also discusses Kamp Staaldraad, the Bulls’ lack of form in his final season, the controversial refereeing decisions that led to the Boks’ quarter-final departure from the Rugby World Cup in 2011 and his retirement from rugby. This is undoubtedly the one book every rugby fan will want to read.
SuperVan & I
THE CARS, THE RACES, THE RIVALRIES, THE WOMEN ... WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF SAREL VAN DER MERWE, SOUTH AFRICA’S GREATEST RACING DRIVER. IT’S TIME TO FASTEN YOUR SEATBELT FOR THE RIDE OF YOUR LIFE ... Sarel van der Merwe is a certified, card-carrying legend – the Clint Eastwood of South African motor sport. Not only is Sarel the most gifted driver ever to come out of this country, winning both off-road and on the track, but he’s been utterly uncompromising in his approach. Since he and his alter ego, SuperVan, have been racing, Sarel has been super-competitive, scratching paint off racing cars from Kyalami to Le Mans. And he’s certainly pissed some people off. In this no-holds-barred ...
The Springboks and the Holy Grail
This is the epic story of South Africa’s amazing quests for the Rugby World Cup, which resulted in triumph at Ellis Park in 1995 and in Paris in 2007, while there was heartbreak in 1999 and shame in 2003. The Springboks and the Holy Grail is no mere narration of matches and scores. The author was closely involved in all four RWC campaigns while working for the Sunday Times and SuperSport, and he provides behind-the-scenes reportage on the great cast and incredible incidents that made for such riveting drama. This is a story of human heroism and frailty, of great dignity and patent jealousy that transcends the mere realm of sport. The book contains numerous interviews with key players and administrators, as well as well-known figures who were touched by these campaigns, and provides a fascinating insight into an event which is now one of the biggest in the world of sport. This is a candid glimpse behind the scenes that often reads like pure fiction.
Beast
Tendai Mtawarira is known throughout the rugby world simply as Beast. Or, more often than not, ‘Beeeaaassssttt!’, as crowds from Durban to London, Buenos Aires to Auckland cry whenever he gets the ball. In 2018 he became the most capped prop in Springbok history, earning his 100th Test cap for the Springboks, and in 2019 he became the most capped Super Rugby player in South Africa. Due to play in his third World Cup in September 2019, Beast has been in a winning series against the British and Irish Lions, contested two Super Rugby finals and won three Currie Cups with his beloved Sharks. Along the way, he has been moved from back row to front row, bullied by xenophobic politicians and undergone three bouts of heart surgery. Beast is the story of how a humble man from Zimbabwe has become a rugby icon.
The Poisoned Chalice
The Springboks have had several post-isolation coaches, and if they agree on nothing else, they will concur that everyone in the job suffers enormous pressure. Unlike coaches from other rugby-playing countries, they also face many obstacles outside of the game, such as South Africa’s complicated politics and the often unrealistic expectations of both the public and the media. It has been called a poisoned chalice, and everyone, from the first post-isolation coach, John Williams, to the incumbent, Heyneke Meyer, can attest to its veracity. Now, for the first time, their journeys are recorded in one book, and as part of one story. The Poisoned Chalice takes an in-depth look at each of the coaches in the post-apartheid years, and at the same time examines how the role has evolved over the past two decades. From the triumphs to the controversies, the boardroom to the rugby field, this book reveals exactly what it takes to be the Bok coach, and why each and every one of them, at some time or another in the toughest job in South African sport, lost it. A riveting, often revelatory and definitely controversial read!
Talking Balls
Who has the worst swing of any successful golfer? Which novice helped Bruce Fordyce win his first Comrades? How will Eskom improve Bafana Bafana’s chances in the 2010 FIFA World Cup? Which Springbok rugby personality sidestepped Australian passport control ... twice? Talking Balls answers these questions, and more, in a collection of entertaining writings by some of South Africa’s top sports journalists – and a few enthusiastic gatecrashers – about the lighter side of sport. Edward Griffiths, Andy Capostagno, Peter Roebuck, Neil Manthorp, Dan Nicholl, Lungani Zama, Ben Trovato, Ray White, John Bishop and the late Peter Robinson are among those featured alongside such sports personali...
Springbok Rugby Quiz
Which Springbok match saw the least number of spectators ever attending a test match? Who was the unofficial arm-wrestling champion in the Springbok side on the 1981 tour to New Zealand? Which Springbok lock played with a glass eye? Welcome to the ultimate rugby quiz book for real rugby fans! Springbok Rugby Quiz examines the lore of rugby in an unusually entertaining way: it comprises 1001 questions and answers. Rugby lovers can now enjoy some of the most outlandish anecdotes, as well as cold, hard facts and statistics, about this game we all love. This well-researched book covers the entire spectrum of our rugby history, from the first test match in 1891, up to modern times. The book has two sections: test yourself by reading the question in the first part and then cross-check your answer in the second part. Rugby fans will certainly find more than enough challenges among the 1001 questions included here. And, as a bonus, the author also includes his Dream Team – the best players of all time united in one super team. Fun, informative and factual, this is a must-read for all rugby fans.
From Locker Room to Boardroom
More than 84 per cent of professional rugby players in South Africa are going to find it difficult to survive financially once they stop playing rugby. How will they find success in their new careers once their rugby jerseys have been washed for the last time? From Locker Room to Boardroom explores how former South African rugby players culled certain traits from their playing days and applied them to their enterprises in order to make a successful transition from the rugby field (the locker room) to the business world (the boardroom). Naas Botha, Gary Teichmann, Joel Stransky, François Pienaar, Kevin de Klerk, Breyton Paulse and Kobus Wiese, to name but a few, share the many challenges they faced and the different strategies they employed on the road to establishing the single factor that, more than any other, lies at the root of their business success. Filled with entertaining anecdotes, sound practical advice and pioneering business models, From Locker Room to Boardroom provides a unique and fascinating approach to achieving success in the commercial world.
The Springbok Coaches
Was coach Heyneke Meyer the reason why the Springboks failed at the 2015 Rugby World Cup? And what does the future have in store for the incumbent coach, Allister Coetzee? Find these answers, and many others, in The Springbok Coaches. In this new, updated edition of The Poisoned Chalice, rugby writer Gavin Rich takes us past the disappointment of the 2015 Rugby World Cup right up to the appointment of Allister Coetzee in April 2016, and dissects not only the successes and failures of these two Springbok coaches, but of all the post-isolation coaches who preceded them. If all of them agree on one thing, it is that the job goes hand in hand with tremendous pressure and that, at some point, the...
World in Union
World in Union is the story of the Rugby World Cup told via its fifteen most important and dramatic matches. From the inauspicious beginnings of the 1987 tournament, which nearly didn't happen due to back-room politics, and the amateur era's aversion to commercialism, the Rugby World Cup has grown into the third largest sporting event in the world, behind only the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics. World in Union looks at the greatest games and the biggest controversies played out on the Rugby World Cup stage with each chapter focusing on a different game. Western Samoa breaking Welsh hearts, the emergence of Jonah Lomu, Nelson Mandela and Francois Pienaar uniting the Rainbow Nation, Wilkinson's drop for World Cup glory, France's habit of spoiling the All Blacks' party, Sam Warburton's controversial sending off and Japan's greatest moment—all this and more is covered in this enjoyable narrative for all rugby fans.
