Shimmy: I do it for my country
7 Jun 2006
After his only start in a Springbok jersey last weekend, Hanyani Shimange again finds himself on the bench for the first Test against Scotland.
It is familiar territory for the Stormers man. He has eight Test caps in two years, all of which have been earned from the bench. With captain John Smit making a return from injury, Shimange may get another chance in Durban, possibly late in the second half.
Smit makes a return to the No 2 jersey after missing out on the World XV match with a niggling groin injury. Shimange though will be as ready as ever should his services be needed.
“Obviously I’d love to start a Test,” Shimange told keo.co.za “but I have a job to do and will back my captain all the way.”
The motivation, says Shimange, is to keep trying to make that elusive step, but until it happens he is happy to be back-up to the team captain. “I am behind the skipper 100% and it must be remembered that at the end of the day being a Bok is a privilege not a right.”
Shimange had a tidy, if not explosive, game against the World XV, but then again just about every Bok that day struggled to find their feet properly.
“I have no control, apart from putting in the effort, on whether I play or not. And although the control is not in my hands, the motivation to achieve more game time drives me to keep trying.â€
“All of us are here to do well and whether you are in the starting XV or a replacement our aim is the same – to contribute to another Bok victory,†says Shimange.
By Andrew Hollely
446 Comments
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7 Jun 2006, 18:49 pm
Jamaica has about as much crime as anywhere else. But I took tourist packages as I was on my own.
One morning in hotel eating brekkies I heard reports of family shootings on the local radio!
The visit was a jol, and I got to pay homage to Bob Marley.
7 Jun 2006, 18:51 pm
Dawn,
I wonder if it still might happen. Just wait until Madiba passes away…that’s the litmus test for me. Once he’s gone and his peace and reconcilitation rhetoric fades in the memory, SA may well descend into anarchy.
But, it may be ok. The secret is in educating the masses. When people are educated and can think for themselves it lessens the likelihood of them behaving like sheep. Currently, the ANC abuses it’s position (in my view) because the people still see it as party of freedom. But people are waking up and realising that their politicians aren’t delivering what they said they would. The problem in SA is that you don’t have a credible opposition who can challenge for power.
7 Jun 2006, 18:51 pm
And I spent most of the time in Montego Bay.
7 Jun 2006, 18:52 pm
These two old ballies were living in an Old Age Home .and the oke fancied the female . They agreed to have *** one afternoon when the rest of the vegetables were out touring .
They gather in the females room and the bloke says to the old lady , ‘do you mind if I go down on you” and the old lady says “go for it” . After about 30 seconds the old geezer pulls back his head and looks at the old lady and says , “it really smells bad down there” to which the old lady says “it must be my arthritis”
The old geezer can’t work it out and says you can’t get arthritis down there , and even if you could , it would not smell that bad , to which the old lady responded , “the arthritis is in my shoulders and I often struggle to wipe my bum”
7 Jun 2006, 18:54 pm
Dawn, reports are that crime is the worst against whites in Jamaica.
Good few travel groups advised my white friends from going there (in the usa), they ended up going to the Bahamas.
7 Jun 2006, 18:54 pm
It is proven that crime and unemployment are linked. I believe that SA unepmployment is high. It takes time to educate an population that has been neglected. It also takes time for that population to get skilled enough for foreign business to invest in your economy. But SA is beginning to attract foreign investment more and more. If unemployment can be brought down and people educated, I believe that crime will also fall.
7 Jun 2006, 18:56 pm
O ****, I’m late again. I need to meet someone at Mugg and Bean.
Who goes to Mugg and Bean in any case, who still drinks coffee for that matter.
7 Jun 2006, 18:56 pm
Post ya lada.
7 Jun 2006, 18:56 pm
I think that 12 years down the line maybe the new educated masses are just about leaving high school!
We need more time, and time is what we don’t have.
Meantime all today’s 20 somethings are sitting with the flak.
7 Jun 2006, 18:57 pm
Dawn ,finally a intelligent person has joined our heated debate … thanks agree with your posts
Stodders , I think you know more about South africa than south africans do !!!! totally agree with your 403 post … finally we agree on something
7 Jun 2006, 18:57 pm
Hmmm you have four watches, use one of them!!!
7 Jun 2006, 18:59 pm
Am ever the diplomat. (Takes a bow).
Gotta go gents, catchyalater.
7 Jun 2006, 18:59 pm
Dawn, it’s a harsh reality I know. My friends in SA are fresh out of uni and are struggling to find work. Most are lucky because they have studied specialised subjects like law and psychology, but others are finding it difficult and are contemplating going overseas to get a break.
7 Jun 2006, 18:59 pm
Stodders are you in Politics by any chance .
Hey what happened to Grote piel , I am missing his clever chirps …….not
7 Jun 2006, 18:59 pm
bye Dawn
7 Jun 2006, 19:00 pm
lol Vinnie, do we even have Burger King?
stodders, always ultimately end up in SA, its in one’s blood, interesting place. the violence is horrendous, but over time, hopefully it can be sorted. the economy is flourishing, its zim that is the problem.
7 Jun 2006, 19:01 pm
Dawn, I have 3 and quite obviously don’t understand them as I’m always late.
And when I am late I still muck around for who knows how long, for no reason?!?
But everyone knows me us such.
7 Jun 2006, 19:02 pm
Deutsche_Bok…no i’m not, and if i decided i wanted to i hope my friends would put me of my misery!
I take an interest in it though because these people are voted in as custodians of our countries…and systematically abuse their position by blatantly doing their own thing with their own agenda.
I want politics to go back to what it was meant to be…individuals voted by the people to be the voice of the people. Politicians see themselves as a law unto themselves nowadays and I find their arrogance hard to stomach.
7 Jun 2006, 19:05 pm
Cab, no you have Spur. I loved Spur when I was over!
I hope SA proves all the doubters wrong. I’m glas the government reversed it’s ludicrous AA policy to a degree…at least they admitted the brain drain is an issue and are actively enticing ex-pats to return to boost the economy.
I agree that Zim is a problem…but Mbeki has made a real dogs dinner of that with his “quiet diplomacy”. I do hope SA finds itself a REAL leader who can drive through the changes that are needed and wants to release the shackles that keep those on the gravy train getting richer.
7 Jun 2006, 19:07 pm
Well said stodders …. 100 % agree … wow twice now we agree …
maybe you should get invovled in politics … I would vote for you
7 Jun 2006, 19:08 pm
Cab,
If you go to Moscow, the violence is pretty bad. LA, Chicago, Rio de Janeiro all have serious issues. Common denominator – lots of people living in poverty (yes even the mighty US has poverty), who are badly educated and have no chance of making something of themselves because their government has failed them. It allows gangs and mafia to manipulate and control them through fear…and leads to ppl having to commit crime to just stay alive.
7 Jun 2006, 19:10 pm
Deutsche_Bok,
I’m afraid I’d never make it as a politician. The only way to get to the top is by giving up your beliefs it would seem and adhering to your parties political doctrine. Politics is a career choice now…it shouldn’t be!
7 Jun 2006, 19:12 pm
So tell me guys…what’s a good salary in SA.
I got offered a job in Cape Town for a well known SA company paying 450k rand a year. I turned it down as I had a better job offer up this way, but I never found out if that was a good salary or not for SA.
7 Jun 2006, 19:14 pm
Depends what you do and where you go.
Jozi is pretty much like London – lots more money but shittier place to live.
What do you do for a living?
7 Jun 2006, 19:14 pm
Dawn
The Head boy at DHS this year is a bantu , First XV and all that . Solid , well balanced bloke . It’s all about the influence he can give off around him . He has come through the ranks and has grown up in a first world environment . It is the same at all the top schools .
Unfortunately , a lot of the brain drain is not exclusive to the white kids , but also the black , coloured and indian kids who achieve academic excellence . Until such time as we can retain this crop of youth who mingle freely and respect one another , there could be some turbulence ahead .
I agreee with Stodders to a point . It was quite tangible when Madiba was in control – albeit at an elderly stage of his life – togetherness was very much the order of the day . It’s ironic that his old mate Govan Mbeki’s son was given the presidency , after having grown up and graudated in Kent and also Moscow . I use the word ironic because I detect an an advancing polarisation , which was not evident under Madiba .
However , although at the end of the day , the ANC want’s power at any cost which is at variance with Mbeki , who although disliking whites , knows from a business perspective , he has no option but to tolerate them .
2009 will answer some serious questions , whether or not Madiba is still around . I know many whites who subscribe to the Churchill theory that they could just hang around and feed the crocodiles , in the hope they will be the last eaten .
The ANC could surprise and hold out a huge olive branch by detracting from their traditions , and appointing Trevor Manuel as the President in 2009 but it looks like wishful thinking .
7 Jun 2006, 19:15 pm
shaka…thanks for that. Good read
7 Jun 2006, 19:16 pm
I dont see why the anc would hold out an olive branch when they could probably just beat all opposition into the ground and take it all themselves.
7 Jun 2006, 19:17 pm
Vinnie,
I’m a Senior Consultant working in the telecoms industry. I specialise in billing systems and revenue assurance. Hope that means something to you as it usually elicits a few puzzled looks when I try and explain what I do to ppl! lol
7 Jun 2006, 19:17 pm
Vinnie,
you’d need to a decent opposition to beat into the ground first!
7 Jun 2006, 19:18 pm
Gotta love ya and leave ya , Got a pig to cook …
Bis dann
7 Jun 2006, 19:18 pm
stodders,
yip agree Mbeki has been way too silent on Bob the man, he has single-handedly driven a once successful economy straight into the ground. also, got to watch out for those gravy-train okes, but we have perefectly good tertiary education in SA and more competing interests and groups than Zim. Also, the constitution is very democratic. the quality of youngsters coming through should be enough to keep SA doing well now and into the future.
yip got to get rid of the gangsters, but springups whenever poverty, its a feldgling democracy, but hopefully over time as the wealth is distributed more evenly, things will improve.
7 Jun 2006, 19:20 pm
rugby and politics don’t mix buddies…what is going on here
7 Jun 2006, 19:23 pm
shaka,
dont have the same sense of impending doom as you, think SA can be the catalyst for change in the whole of Africa.
Manuel will make a fine president, astute bloke, just got to pick the right ppl, there are 1 or 2 idiots, aka Zuma, but eveyone has them, look at old 2 jags in the UK, bugger cant complete a coherent sentence and seems to think shagging his secretary is a perk of the job.
7 Jun 2006, 19:24 pm
Shaka,
The ANC, like any other political party will fight tooth and nail to retain power. They have been canny to ride the wave of popular sentiment for as long as they have. People are now beginning to ask questions though, and this is where it will get interesting. If there is a surge in support for the Democratic Alliance, will the ANC look to quell this uprising by political means to keep the people on side, i.e. building the infrastructure and providing helathcare and education, or will they resort to other means to let the people know that they won’t tolerate insubordination.
I wait with baited breath. I don’t want SA to become a communist state, but that is what it is right now in all but name.
7 Jun 2006, 19:24 pm
right good evening boys, the work day is complete, nice weather over here.
7 Jun 2006, 19:26 pm
Cab,
I share your optimism. But SA has a huge burden on it…they eyes of the world are watching to see if it will become the bright new dawn of Africa, or whether it will go the same way as som many other regimes have done on the continent.
7 Jun 2006, 19:27 pm
I think it’s time for me to leave and enjoy a few beverages in th sun too. Always a pleasure guys…
catch you soon
7 Jun 2006, 19:30 pm
That is the question stodders, but i think it is a former, there is already a very good infrastructure in place, the bigger thing for me rather than crime and Aid, which is think can be got under control with the existing population, buts its the population explosion that is likely to result from surrounding countries like Zim, Mozambique and Angola whose economies are being destroyed.
Interesting times lie ahead, but this is hopefully africa’s watershed.
7 Jun 2006, 19:31 pm
cheers
7 Jun 2006, 19:31 pm
Chaps – don’t be fooled by the constitution , such a piece of paper is merely a matter of interpretation .
Whilst it is excellent that we have freedom of expression , but with the overwhelming majority of blacks voting for the ANC , one could be forgiven for thinking that our democracy is simply the corrupt arithmetic of majority rule .
Currently , the ANC are attempting to reduce the “world” to a simple set of notions and it is unfortunate that anyone (most of their voters) who subscribes to a simple set of notions , tends to have a pretty distorted picture of reality .
Hence the view that it’s all about retaining the school achievers of today , who have by and large become accustomed to first world standards as opposed to the swiftly advancing mediocrity , and corrupt general culture of dishonesty which currently prevails in the ANC .
Some of you ought to listen to Moletsi Mbeki , brother of Thabo – you would be pleasantly surprised at his outlook .
Hlala Gahle amadada abafaze
Shaka
7 Jun 2006, 19:36 pm
sorry – amadoda (men)
7 Jun 2006, 19:39 pm
Moletsi Mbeki
A lonely voice of reason?
Businessman and brother of the SA president, Moeletsi Mbeki has come under considerable flak for
his outspoken views on black economic empowerment (BEE). But he has remained undeterred.
Speaking at a BusinessMap Foundation breakfast last week, in what he claims will be his last public
speech on the topic, Mbeki outlined why he feels SA’s current BEE initiatives, including the
empowerment charters scorecards, will fail.
BEE, says Mbeki, has backfired over the past 10 years by creating a culture of entitlement among
the black elite. It has done nothing for poor South Africans who are growing in number.
“It is not the business of government to enrich the black middle class or to handout existing
businesses. The black middle class can look after itself,” says Mbeki.
The problem, he says, started with big businesses such as AngloAmerican, who feared
nationalisation, embarking on a strategy of channelling bits and pieces of equity to a politically wellconnected
class, instead of nurturing a culture of black entrepreneurship. But as the recent mining
charter debacle highlighted, this strategy came with a sting the tail. Suddenly black groups were no
longer satisfied with bits and pieces. They wanted the whole cake. The finance sector panicked,
billions were wiped off stock valuations and government urgently had to address the issue.
SA’s major challenges, says Mbeki, are a lack of entrepreneurship, a lack of capacity at
government level (which results in money allocated in the budget not being spent) and an
ineffective education system. Pointing to the FM’s recent cover story on SA’s dysfunctional
education system (see Cover, September 12), Mbeki points to the dire pass rate of black students
with higher level maths and science. The FM commented that most of the students leaving school
are unemployable, incompetent in maths and science and barely equipped for further study. Also
many schools still lack basic utilities, and teachers are still under skilled and largely unaccountable
for what happens in the classroom.
Empowerment charter balanced scorecards and the Oppenheimer family’s Brenthurst proposals for
economic growth will come to nothing if we don’t deliver the proper education, says Mbeki. No
business can hope to meet the scorecard if the schooling system continues to fail.
The clearest testimony of the failure of the BEE project, he says, is evident in the lack of black
entrepreneurs taking advantage of the US’s African Growth & Opportunity Act (Agoa). There’s been
an enormous mushrooming of clothing and textile factories in SA and Lesotho to supply US
markets. But it’s been Chinese, not black, entrepreneurs who have exploited this opportunity.
Similar, it’s been foreign rather than local vehicle manufacturers who have taken advantage of
Agoa. “The black elite have been too busy looking for shares in our listed companies,” says Mbeki.
“They are not participating because they’re too busy shuffling the decks at the top for political
reasons.”
Another concern of BEE’s foc us on equity is that this is encouraging a disinvestment programme.
Mbeki first highlighted his concern of forced sales at the ANC conference three weeks ago. He
points out that if listed companies are to relinquish 26% of their equity, foreign shareholders will be
forced to disinvest. Similarly, large pension funds will be pushed out and will invest their billions
offshore. “How can we achieve economic growth and development if we insist on pushing such
investors out of SA-listed companies?”
7 Jun 2006, 19:40 pm
Can this really be Thabo’s brother?
7 Jun 2006, 19:54 pm
and here i thought i was running a rugby blog….
7 Jun 2006, 22:51 pm
He rightly points out what BEE is doing, Saturday we saw Shimange being scrummed into kingdom come.
It was obvious that he is useless and a token, in company’s it is not always that clear if you have useless people running it but the results are the same and the rpoblems are the same
8 Jun 2006, 09:54 am
Shimmy if you were doing it for your country you would give up and go play soccer. Leave the hooking duties to the real props like Schalk Brits and Gary Botha and John Smit.
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