Wikus switches focus
15 May 2006
Cats captain Wikus van Heerden is a relieved man.
He found out on Saturday evening that he had earned a recall to the Springbok training squad. And that call-up affords the hard-working flank the opportunity to shift his focus from the beleagured Cats/Lions to the Boks. It is a huge weight off his shoulders – for now.
Everyone at the Cats has felt the pinch of a disastrous campaign, but now for van Heerden and the other Cats’ Boks there is a great chance to start afresh in Bloemfontein this week.
It has been a difficult year for the Cats skipper as his team failed to produce anywhere near their potential throughout the 13 rounds. Van Heerden though never gave less than 100%.
“It’s been so frustrating,” van Heerden told keo.co.za, “especially having to sit out the last few weeks. And I though we had finally got it right in kimberley. The guys played well in the first half against the Cheetahs, but then the Cheetahs came back strongly.”
Van Heerden has been out of action since injuring himself against the Sharks on April 15, but is confident of being able to take a full part in the Bok camp starting on Wednesday.
“It’s been a great thing actually for me. I needed a break and the rest has done wonders. I’m pretty much ready to start at full pace on Wednesday.”
Van Heerden had waited with great anticipation while Saru president Oregan Hoskins read the names of the 45 players in alphabetical order. “It was a little nerve-wracking, especially as he approached the V’s in the forwards. But it was a great feeling to be included. There is a lot of hard work that lies ahead.”
By Andrew Hollely
30 Comments
15 May 2006, 07:10 am
I was crying over you
I am smiling think of you
Breathing the air if you care dont compare
dont say farewell
nothing can compare
to when you roll the dice and swear your love’s for me
Dice-Finley Quaye featuring William Orbit
15 May 2006, 07:11 am
Yes this man deserves it he was the only guy that did any thing in that pathetic set up called da Cats.Meoooooow.
15 May 2006, 07:12 am
Holy sh*t what are you smoking?
15 May 2006, 07:14 am
pompies not smoking anything.There are some good music out there.Majority of afrikaans music isnt music its a throat infection
15 May 2006, 07:16 am
Maybe he will have to switch sides too – depending on today’s big GLRU house cleaning indaba. I hope keo.co.za will give us news from that meeting. We all wait in great anticipation for the promised changes. The big question is what to do with Ludeke. If he remains in the mix then the name must be changed to the Golden Ludeke Rugby Union.
15 May 2006, 07:18 am
Bliks I can tell you are a dutchie you say are instead of is but what the hell at least you try, my dutch is pretty **** so I take my hat off to you.
15 May 2006, 07:22 am
Kats this Cats team has been **** for a long long time you are spot on some thing must be done.They made da play offs in 2000-2001 and they have da players .Fire da coach.
15 May 2006, 07:24 am
To pick a player like van heerdan and solly t over a player like luke watson is a disgrace .How good a captain van van heerdan be if his team is pathetic , show’s no commitment , lacks passion and has no discipline . The cats/lions have not achieved anything under this guy , so plaese can somebody tell me what makes him such a great captain or even a good player !!! or is it the South African mentallity coming through that if a player runs straight into somebody all the time with no intention to ever pass the ball he must be so committed and that must make him a good player .
He has played test rugby before and couldnt make it at that level .
15 May 2006, 07:25 am
pompies im just in a moer of a good mood.Dont have to go to Singapore again.Flying via mauritius instead.
15 May 2006, 07:27 am
Sing is not that bad, but you do tend to get sick of da food after a while.
15 May 2006, 07:30 am
sing is kak.been there once did all the things.sentosa,hooters,hardrock cafe and the long bar in raffles hotel drinking singapore slings.cant see a reason to go again.
15 May 2006, 07:32 am
grey,
Dit is onverskoonbaar dat LWatson en T Dlulani nie die groep gehaal het nie – JW kon vir Solly en JC gedrop het want ons kort meer spoed na die afbreekpunt!!!.
15 May 2006, 07:33 am
Sh*t Raffles nogal the man has blik or what?
15 May 2006, 07:34 am
Grey,
how much have the Stormers achieved with Luke Watson? Not much either. Go look at the stats on on the SARU website and you’ll see that Wikus is underrated – not overrated as you imply.
15 May 2006, 07:36 am
Wikus sticks out like a sore thumb popping up all over da place he is da man.
15 May 2006, 07:37 am
Fokit pompies.Singapore Sling in the Long bar was about R140 a shot.I just had one.
15 May 2006, 07:40 am
I just wanted to say, was there on a tour and could only look never mind buy any thing.He he he.
15 May 2006, 07:41 am
Got to get to work, laters.
15 May 2006, 07:49 am
Katsesnor ,
Forget about the results of both teams for a minute and think about what each player would bring to the bok team , besides been a linout option van heerden has nothing on watson , he cant match his skill , pace or vision , he cant pass both ways or either way in fact and knocks the ball on every time he takes a hit .
Why not pick players who do their primary responsibilities very well and can bring that something extra , like watson would .
Loose forwards that dont have the pace and skill will always be exposed against the top sides , like what happened to danie roussouw against the aussies last year in the first test .
And if Jake is picking him just because he is a great leader , then that theory has been thrown out the window by the way cats play and what level of commitment they show , in fact they have done better since he was injured !!! i hope they show that under the stats on the SARU site .
15 May 2006, 08:10 am
Luke Watson has done very little this season to justify all the hype from the Cape rugby supporters. He had one great game and another 2 or 3 decent games, and now everyone is crying conspiracy because he was overlooked. To be honest, the most suspect Springbok squad call-ups (based on recent form) are Stormers players – Marius Joubert, De Wet Barry, Joe van Niekerk.
15 May 2006, 08:29 am
Katman ,
I am a loyal Stormers fan , but i have to agree , but they are quality players and hopefully the bok setup will get them right , well lets hope so .
but in watson’s case he deserves to be there , maybe not in the match day 22 but at least in a large training squad and he has played well enough over his 4 years of super rugby to show that he can compete at that level with best in the world and has even outplayed them on certein occasions .
15 May 2006, 08:35 am
katman
you have the balls to mention big Joe negatively. nobody seems to. he was outplayed on the weekend big time and was ineffective,yet the commentators say wha they always say….he gave total commitment and never stopped trying.
im not concerned that he’s in the 45 squad but i do worry that no matter hwat ,he will be picked ahead of AJ and Pedrie. I would like to see Schalk,Juan and AJ,with Pedrie as cover.
Joe should be in 35 man squad as cover when injuries start to happen.
15 May 2006, 11:13 am
Grey,
Wikus is a great leader. Ask anyone who’s played with and under him. That the Cats are doing so poorly cannot be attributed to him as captain. **** players will be less **** under a good leader but **** non-the-less. The captain have zero powers over poor coaching (Ludeke and Coetzee) and poor administrators (Ferreira and Turner). Did the Sharks’ poor showings last year mean that Smit is a bad captain? White wants Wikus in the squad as back-up captain. He made it very clear. And I go with that.
At present Watson stands in the back of a very capable queue. As I’ve stated before, Watson must consider other options (overseas). He can up his value and give him an edge over the others ahead of him in the queue by gaining experience in France (for example). Playing for the Stormers is bad for his career. He’s young. Playing overseas for the next three years will place him at the front of the queue. It’s up to him.
15 May 2006, 11:20 am
bliksem a very good friend of mine recorded and produced that song. finley aparently is a big coke head!
15 May 2006, 11:37 am
Katsesnor ,
i still dont rate van heerden as good enough to be anywhere near a Springbok jersey , you just proved that a captain doesnt make a team any better so why then put van heerden in there as a captain when he isnt good enough to be there as a player ?
luke watson has the talent and is good enough to be a bok , just beacause jake white has a personal issue with him he wont pick him and one day it will come out .
15 May 2006, 11:52 am
grey you one of those Watson is better than all spewing idiots,wait a season and we will see if Luke I am the team Watson features anywhere.He has great potential as a fetcher and has played some good rugby,now let’s not forget this fella was despatched to the doldrums just twelve months ago.Memories are obviously very short in the World of Watson.Whether he is better or worse than anyone else,he will have to proove in time and for an extended time.You can’t pick one-season wonders and suddenly drop tried and tested players.ONE SEASON DOES NOT A LEGEND MAKE!!!!
15 May 2006, 13:01 pm
Grey,
a good captain can make a good team better. The Cats aint a good team.
15 May 2006, 14:50 pm
rastafox ,
this is watson’s 4th year of super rugby , not his first , you one of those idiots that forgot that his 2 years at the sharks were very good years , followed by a average season last year and this year he has been playing great rugby …
as soon as jake white is gone , watson will be in the team and i will take you a bet that he will captain the team in a few seasons time .
15 May 2006, 15:32 pm
Gandhalf the Grey, reading that ball of yours again? What did you see? Watson in Bok colours – and captain too? Wow! Must go tell Jake the White you have spoken
Seriously now, Watson and Brits know what they have to do. They will have to sidestep Jake the White for now and go walk the distant paths accross the wide waters – to return as much wiser and better equiped craftsmen of their trade. And as you foresee then, when Jake the White takes the ship out to the next world, they will be at the front of the pack.
15 May 2006, 17:16 pm
Captain Courageous!
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