Monsieur Milton locked onto France
1 Feb 2008
There is a strong possibility that Cliff Milton will be playing for France in the near future.
The former Bulls lock spent the majority of his career in South Africa watching from the wood or the stands as Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha played yin to the other’s yang. A star at national U21 level, Milton is held in high regard in South Africa, and was expected to make the step up to Test rugby.
However, a prodigious talent like Milton would inevitably become frustrated at being continually overlooked, even though he realised that competing against the world’s best lock pairing was always going to be a big ask. And when that frustration met the opportunity to trade pastel blue for the shocking pink of Stade Francais, the 22-year-old saw a future that involved significantly less splinters.
Even at this early stage of his career with the Paris-based giants, and with limited game time, Milton’s performances are causing quite a stir. He’s occupied prime position in France’s leading rugby publications, and many respected European rugby personalities are convinced that his international future lays in a blue shirt, not a green and gold one.
“There have been a few influential people mentioning me as an option for France in a couple of years and the French public seem to want me to stay and play a part with the national side,” he told keo.co.za.
“It’s certainly an option and I will consider playing for France when that time comes (in two years). To play for the Boks will always be my goal but, again, if France approach me the choice will be pretty simple.”
“The reality is that there are probably guys ahead of me in the queue. At least I think in the selectors’ mind there will be,” he said. “So I’ll just have to keep grafting and hopefully make it really hard for them to ignore me.”
With Matfield and Botha set to be entrenched as the lock pairing for the foreseeable future and others like Johann Muller, Albert van den Berg, Barend Pieterse, Ross Skeate and Andries Bekker lining up to succeed them, Milton could be hanging around for a while before realising his dream of playing for the Springboks. France, conversely, have a shortage of quality locks, making it a far more viable option for Milton if he hopes to play Test rugby.
Milton, who played under Springbok coach Peter de Villiers in the World Championship winning U21 side in 2005, says their relationship is “good”. He is, however, a realist and is not expecting De Villiers to come calling when he meets with some of the European-based players in February.
Asked what he thought of De Villiers’s appointment ahead of his former Bulls mentor Heyneke Meyer, Milton said: “Peter has taken a lot of unfair criticism. He is a very good coach with huge potential. If he’s given the freedom to select the side he wants without any political interference, I think he’ll be very successful.”
For a self-confessed farm boy, Milton has taken to Paris with surprising ease. He spends his free time sampling French cuisine at Paris’ numerous restaurants. “I love the fact that every restaurant has a unique aura about it. You don’t get many franchises over here, so eating out is always a great experience,” he said, adding that former Cheetahs lock and Stade team-mate Boela du Plooy is a constant companion.
“I like the cheeses and I’m getting into rabbit, and it goes without saying that the wines here are some of the best in the world. I’m also becoming more interested the whole art scene,” the 2m, 105kg Nelspruit-born bruiser continued. “Boela and I went to see a Vincent van Gogh exhibition recently and it was amazing to see pieces of artwork I’ve only ever seen on television right in front of me.
“Paris is a great city. The people here are really laid back and not too concerned about material things, although they love their fashion. I’m still catching up in that department.”
Bakkies Botha’s five-year contract extension in late 2007 sealed the deal in Milton’s mind. Stade Francais it was.
“I feel more appreciated here,” he conceded. “All I wanted was a chance to prove my worth and I never got that. At one stage I was so desperate to play that I joined up with Pretoria Police Rugby Club so that I could get some game time and that was a great experience because I was out there doing what I loved instead of watching from the bench.
“Then I got a chance in the Currie Cup and I think they [the Bulls] realised my value so they made an offer. I wanted nothing more than to stay, but Bakkies had a long term deal so it didn’t make sense to sign.”
Botha could of course be a Toulon player soon. That’s got to be frustrating? “No not all,” he counters. “I have no regrets.
“God taught me a valuable lesson while I was here. He made me realise how big the world really is. My frame of reference was always confined to Pretoria, but being able to spend an hour or so on a train and be in Belgium or Spain has made me hungry to see and learn more about the the world. He [God] taught me that money was a finite thing and that the rat race was one sporting event I didn’t want to be involved in. The experiences you have and memories you make have enduring value.
“I wouldn’t trade those lessons for anything.”
By Ryan Vrede
130 Comments
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1 Feb 2008, 15:48 pm
I get that bit, WPTID. I just don’t get the connection to Darwinism.
1 Feb 2008, 15:50 pm
alf,
u are a very knowledgable rugby supporter, but thats crazy talk. May god have mercy on us all if ppl still believe that.
the afr claims to superioity stem out of their religion as the supposedly chosen ppl, not unlike other systems were supremacy over other races was tried to be justified. Bad sciece or darwinism is often misinterpreted to suit those conditioned beliefs.
Genetics does mean that groups will have minor differences, but the afr is a very averagely sized european imo, but not in the same physical ballpark as certain black or polynesian groups.
1 Feb 2008, 15:56 pm
I saw unwanted children and struggling teenage mothers before abortions were legalised..
I still see unwanted children and struggling teenage mothers now that abortions have been legalised…
I am confused.
1 Feb 2008, 15:57 pm
Folks, lets not go down this road, take it easy.
1 Feb 2008, 15:58 pm
It’s amazing what a diverse range of opinions are exhibited here on keo.
1 Feb 2008, 16:00 pm
On a lighter note – arent you Cape Town based bloggers going down to the pub to say cheers to Ig.
1 Feb 2008, 16:00 pm
darwinism is good science, its well established, it becomes bad when hijacked to suit certain arguments. the belief in darwinism does not mean an end to ethics, families will still teach their children that. but at least give your children the choice between darwinism, god and the tooth fairy and let them decide who they want to believe in.
1 Feb 2008, 16:02 pm
Whatever you do dont take this topic into the pub with you if you are on yoour way there.
1 Feb 2008, 16:06 pm
Dylan
Are you headed for the Firemans??
1 Feb 2008, 16:11 pm
Man, after last night I don’t want to smell a beer, never mind see one.
And it still feels like a pack of penguins **** in my mouth. My teeth feel all furry.
1 Feb 2008, 16:12 pm
58# Bob
Jip, good advice.
Not in the pub, even here it is a wee unpleasant.
1 Feb 2008, 16:15 pm
Bod,
are u going to phuza with Ig?
1 Feb 2008, 16:16 pm
AAaaaag guys its not that blacks are not capable its because most are lazy or selfish. They wont from thier own community sponsor a talented sportsman. I my schooldays we had to get sponsers to go to certain sporting events, do you see some of these fat cats getting involved in sport?
Lazy is when a guy dont work harder to get into a team, but rather blame the system. Sepaka comes to mind. There are many more, and strangly enough i know of a hell off a lot more lazy whitties , who had all the potential but were plain lazy.
Tell me is there any of these black players willing to drive 30 km to a club practice, well some of the old Springboks did just that.
1 Feb 2008, 16:18 pm
Bod
No, unfortunatly I cant make it – Im actually thinking of phoning in and ordering a round, on Keo’s account of course.
Are you going to make it?
1 Feb 2008, 16:22 pm
Yep, I see the party started early.
1 Feb 2008, 16:23 pm
And here I thought Darwinism was the dreadful stuff folk got up to on a Saturday night up in that godforsaken north-Australian town.
“Northern Territory, Australia – In the early hours of Sunday morning seven highly intoxicated men and a woman were arrested at the local municipal dump on charges of Lewd Public Darwinism and released on warnings.”
1 Feb 2008, 16:27 pm
Cab re no. 57.
This thread is radically heading off topic – I guess my post was to blame for that so I apologize – but I am driven to respond to your above post.
You say Darwinism does not make ethics obsolete.
Well, speaking for myself, if I learned for a fact that humans in fact have no souls and that we are all just randomly generated forms of carbon running around trying to outcompete one another for proteins, then I would feel no compunction against treating any strange human being like an animal. In fact, if I had to choose between saving a human and a dog from a raging river, I’d probably go for the dog, because I love dogs.
If humans have no souls, why should we treat them any differently than animals? Whether we murder a person or not, it is no different from cutting down a tree, then. They are all just carbon based life forms, random clusters of atoms.
It is my religion that drives my ethics. If that were to fall away, why should altruism be valued any higher than narcisism or even nihilism?
Surely it would all then be relative.
In fact, ANY viewpoint can then be justified, seeing as there is no absolute truth. Cannibalism, for example, would then merely be one way of life, as justifiable as any other.
So I disagree. Darwinism in the context that you use it (meaning a refutation of religion) would indeed mean the end of ethics. Note that I do not necessarily see Darwinism and religion as being mutually exclusive, but that is a topic for another debate.
Anyway, back to Cliffie Milton now…
1 Feb 2008, 16:27 pm
One day when I’m big (and loaded) I’ll buy an island and let all these unhappy-with-their-opportuniy players come and play there. We’ll get a flag made up, proclaim the land as a state of some sorts and take on the world ala barbarian style. of course halve the team will be made up of South Africans. By then I’ll have come up with a name. For now I’m thinking along Stealth Plan Island or something suitably confidential.
1 Feb 2008, 16:32 pm
well, in a way most of the first sentence already true
1 Feb 2008, 16:34 pm
63 – Well done, your choice of grammar perfectly matches the content of your post.
1 Feb 2008, 16:37 pm
are you trying to be whittie katman?
1 Feb 2008, 16:38 pm
i’m sure dawn will be happy with all this talk about her
1 Feb 2008, 16:41 pm
the silent r
1 Feb 2008, 16:44 pm
keeping up with the Keo’s
1 Feb 2008, 16:45 pm
Guys I’m off to the Firemans Arms now.
Welcome to the weekend.
I’ll be wearing a bright Ndebele shirt. I’ve met Ig before so that shouldn’t be a problem.
1 Feb 2008, 16:46 pm
superbul
Jannie Engelbrecht used to drive to Stellenbosch twice a week for practice, and then again on weekends. For a club game!
Mannetjies Roux drove from Victoria West to Kimberley, same routine!
And these boys even had to pay for some of their their Springbok kit, like boots.
1 Feb 2008, 16:51 pm
Jinx, I’ll also be there, I’ll be wearing a bulls hat with kudu horns, ostrich feathers, a gunbelt around my waist and crocodile skin shoes, just in case some-one else have the same I’ll have my skateboard pads on my knees (my mode of transport) and tjoopie around my waist. look out for me >>
1 Feb 2008, 16:52 pm
actually it’s a polly otter
1 Feb 2008, 16:55 pm
If you believe people evolved from animals, then you can deal with people like animals.
Darwinism rejects the believe in the supernatural, and that we, esp. us men, must one day answer to a Creator who will judge everything we do.
Thus, if people are only apes, you can deal with them like apes, like animals: kill them.
BTW, do you know what the subtitle is of Charles Darwin’s main book: ‘Origin of Species’ are ?
No, I quess not.
Here is the full title: “On the Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection or the preservation of Favoured Races”
Yes, mr. Racist himself. So it is is a sad irony, some would call it a joke, to be against ‘racism’ and still be a Darwinist or evolusionist.
I myself reject both racism and darwinism/evolutionism, but on biblical grounds.
1 Feb 2008, 16:57 pm
Pietman hulle het dit vir die liefde van die spel gedoen en al is dit nou n geldspel is dit nog steeds die manne wat lief is vir die spel wat sal slaag, al is dit in n ander land.
Waar is Rathbone deesdae ek sien daai slot van SA wat vir Aus gespeel het is in Frankryk(naam ontwyk my).
1 Feb 2008, 16:58 pm
i dont (really) know where I came from and I don’t know where I’m going. that is the only thing all humans have in common
1 Feb 2008, 16:59 pm
Tacitus,
you are normally very calm, but threq wobble at religion despite airing some pretty controversial physical superiority claims before that.
You champion ‘civilization’ over the garlic-eating AIDS preventers and theory being they are uninformed since we have science. That is, the triumph of secular rational thought or the scientific method over superstition. Darwinism is fundamental to science and thus forms part of any decent informative education system.
When ppl get sick where to they run to? The doctor. Why, cos he is medically trained, steeped in the scientific method. They might turn to god, but they go to the doctor. Science works, we know it cos we see it proven every day. So why is science in the form of Darwinism discarded. can only be one reason, it clashes with deeply held religious beliefs.
As for ethics, plenty atheists with a better ethical system then the fundamental muslims or christians around. On altruism, there’s a scientific theory for it, read a bloke called Dawkins who expands on Darwinism. You might not believe it, but thats up to you.
1 Feb 2008, 16:59 pm
superbul, stem jy saam met my plan by nr 68?
1 Feb 2008, 17:03 pm
are you saying we are komodo dragons?
1 Feb 2008, 17:04 pm
The problem with those conducting biblical arguments is that they normally reject any other points of view and the believer expects the entire debate to be conducted within the constraints of his belief. Needless to say this doesn’t make for a stimulating debate and quite understandably ends up in damnation from the one end and ridicule from the other. It’s a no-win situation.
1 Feb 2008, 17:06 pm
82 – Well put, cab.
1 Feb 2008, 17:08 pm
Sjoe Pietman nou net die laaste bal gekyk wat SHAUN POLLOCK op Kingsmead geboul het, baie emotionele tonele daar ekself het n traan uit die oog gevee. Ons gaan hom mis, hy was n yster.
1 Feb 2008, 17:09 pm
Alf
Well said
1 Feb 2008, 17:12 pm
“Natural Selection or the preservation of Favoured Racesâ€
What does the “or” mean…it means it’s the same?
equating that one race is more naturally inclined to survive nature, not each other, seeing we are not the same nature as nature.
1 Feb 2008, 17:12 pm
i am saying in your distant past, your ancestors might have been komodo dragons, and in my case my ouma is the splitting image of one.
1 Feb 2008, 17:16 pm
90, lol
1 Feb 2008, 17:16 pm
super
Clyde Rathbone is nie weg oor die geld nie maar die kukspul van die misdaad wat SA vreet soos ‘n kanker
Die ander ou is Daniel Vickerman wat geleentheid gekry het in Engeland om by Cambridge te studeer, nie oor die geld nie aangesien hy rugby los vir besigheid
Baie van hulle skuld wel rugby abie want rugby het hull gemaak
1 Feb 2008, 17:18 pm
laughter 101. cheers i away >
1 Feb 2008, 17:19 pm
superbul
Vickerman?
Ja, ek kan dink Polly se laaste bal moes iets besonders gewees het.
Die laaste van die Pollocks?
Heng, klink amper ongelooflik.
Alf
Ek lees aandagtig wat jy se, en ek moet se, ek stem 110% saam.
Jy ken jou evolusieteorie boet, dis verseker.
Dit was regtig leersaam, die argumente wat jy aanvoer, en ek kan sien jy is n ou wat ernstig oor hierdie dinge peins.
1 Feb 2008, 17:20 pm
Clyde Rathbone is nie oor geweld weg nie, hy is weg omdat die Aussies hom finansiel en medies gedra het tydens sy lank herstel proses.
1 Feb 2008, 17:26 pm
In the real world I normally release me rabid canine when assertions of humanities pending damnation come a knocking on me front door. Now that Ig The Virtual Pitbull has quit, what is one to do ….
1 Feb 2008, 17:27 pm
92# JL
Ja, Clyde se ouma is ernstig aangerand daar op Empangeni.
Die misdaad maak ons land erg seer.
Maar ek sien hulle het daai dikgat en twee makkers gevang wat solank al daar in Pta-Oos roof(fotos gister se ‘Beeld’).
SDtoppelbaard Minister van Veiligheid (ek het die makmo#r se naam vergeet) wat heeltyd net witmense verjaag, beter sy vinger uit sy gat trek, of hy kan vergeet van WBS 2010, daarvoor sal ek jou n brief gee.
Dit sal nou vir jou n skande wees, as die wereld te bang is om in SA te kom sokker te kyk…
Heng, selfs ek kies al my vlugte sodat ek nie in JHB hoef te land nie!
Te bang hulle steel my klere.
1 Feb 2008, 17:28 pm
After Fido Dog Biscuits, Jehovah’s Witness is me dog’s favourite snack
1 Feb 2008, 17:29 pm
yessus not sure where you get darwin as being a racist.
its a simple theory, survival favours those species (races) who are best suited to their specific environment.
Every living organism undergoes random genetic mutations, some of these help an organism to survive and so over the generations that gene becomes dominant.
Environnents differ. So while an eskimo might be superior in arctic conditions, the bushman is superior in baking conditions. Its not racist, its how they have adapted, and its not racist in the sense of proclaiming absolute superiority over the others, it depends on the environment.
1 Feb 2008, 17:30 pm
Bob
Nee hy was toe al daar, kyk na sy comments, Jake het nog hom probeer terug bring
Selfde as Uli Schmidt hy sit ook al daar
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