42 national team captains from all of South African rugby’s diverse traditions will gather in Cape Town on Wednesday for a unique ceremony.
Current captain Jean de Villiers, as well as ’95 RWC heroes Francois Pienaar and Joost van Westhuizen, will join the oldest living Springbok captain, 83-year-old Des van Jaarsveldt, and many, many others in an event to mark the countdown to a major new rugby museum.
The Captains’ handprints will be captured in special moulds in a public ceremony at the Amphitheatre at the V&A Waterfront (from 14h00). The moulds will be cast into bronze and installed as part of the new Springbok Experience rugby museum, which is due to open at the V&A Waterfront in September.
The Experience will tell the story of rugby in South Africa from the 1860s. As well as the ‘traditional’ Springbok story, the spotlight will be turned on the story of black rugby, prior to the creation of what is now SARU in 1992.
Austen van Heerden, the oldest living captain of the former South African Coloured Rugby Football Board – who led the team in 1961 – will be in attendance as well as Bomza Nkhola, the oldest surviving captain of the South African African Rugby Board and Salie Fredericks, the captain of the first SARU team in 1968.
“We have had a tremendous response from the captains for what will be a once-in-a-lifetime event,” said Mr Oregan Hoskins, president of the South African Rugby Union.
The full list of confirmed captains – in historical order – is as follows:
Des van Jaarsveldt; Avril Malan; Austen van Heerden; Abie Malan; Ebrahim Rinquest; Nelie Smith; John Bekkers; Dawie de Villiers; Welile (“Bomza”) Nkhola; Salie Fredericks; Norman Mbiko; Hannes Marais; Dougie Dyers; Piet Greyling; Liston Ntshongwana; Thompson Magxala; Cassiem Jabaar; Jack Juries; Peter Jooste; Theuns Stofberg; Wynand Claassen; Julian Smith; Randy Marinus; Divan Serfontein; Naas Botha; Peter Slabbert; Fagmie Solomons; Jannie Breedt, Allister Coetzee; Francois Pienaar; Tiaan Strauss; Adriaan Richter; Gary Teichmann; Corné Krige; Rassie Erasmus; Joost van der Westhuizen; Andre Vos; Bobby Skinstad; Nomsebenzi Tsotsobe; Mandisa Williams; Ingrid Botha, Jean de Villiers.
THE SPRINGBOK EXPERIENCE: The 800m2 facility will feature a modern, interactive rugby museum, Springbok shop and ‘Springbok Trials’ rugby skills zone. The Springbok Experience replaces SARU’s former museum in Boundary Road, Newlands and is set to provide an eye-opening contrast to traditional museums.
