Comments on: The ultimate fighter

By: billy

billy — Fri, 09 May 2008 13:02:48 +0000

Well written. Great article. Good for Gerhard, he deserves whatever he gets and if playing for France is his destiney then so be it.

By: mshiniwami

mshiniwami — Fri, 09 May 2008 09:45:36 +0000

Ahhh Grehard Vosloo,,

Rated him at the Lions,he was their best loosie at th time

BUT

Watson
Louw
Schalk
Floors
Vermeulen
Brussow
Smith
Botes
Kankowski
Spies
Daniel
Lobberts
Wannenburg
H.Scholtz
Baywatch
Big Joe
Alberts
Rossouw

Are ALL better than him…

May he enjoy his life in France,What I find most refreshing is that he hasnt blamed anyone/transfromation/crime/politics etc in the article.He felt he was underutilised..He then did something about it.

Good for him,many people could learn from him…

By: american_bull

american_bull — Fri, 09 May 2008 06:51:40 +0000

So true stephen and bryce_in_oz! His biggest problem was the horrible choices he made as a child. I don’t know if this reflects on the parents, or him, or both. For someone who allegedly overcame so much, he doesn’t seem to be very humble. I also love the line, “Their reaction suggests God has just whispered his divine plan for their lives in their ear.” I am not God, so I can’t say for sure, but Vosloo’s life is pretty much part-and-parcel of what to expect when you don’t have faith in the Lord and you think you know more.

This is just more of Keo and his Europe-hype. I can’t wait for the Bulls to ship Deadwood DuPreez off to Cardiff.

By: bryce_in_oz

bryce_in_oz — Fri, 09 May 2008 05:43:22 +0000

Just another spoilt saffa brat living off his larnie folks… without them he’d have been farked… thank heavens for them and sport…

By: ansie

ansie — Fri, 09 May 2008 04:27:04 +0000

I’ve sometimes been critical and even negative about articles on this forum, but this is a brilliant, brilliant article. A triumph of the human spirit, brilliantly depicted in words.

Hats off to you Keo.

By: SjamBok

SjamBok — Thu, 08 May 2008 21:10:42 +0000

Interesting that he says “the best players don’t always play” at the Lions. Perhaps this tjommie-tjommie braai-buddy starting positions for teachers pets is at the heart of the problem there. I know it was like that at my club in Jhb. had bugger all to do with performance.

By: Jingo

Jingo — Thu, 08 May 2008 19:44:47 +0000

Great story! Hope to see this guy playing for Les Bleus this year…

By: voshd

voshd — Thu, 08 May 2008 18:09:21 +0000

Besides the pure toss story of a big tough rich kid having a ‘hard life’, which is pure false hype., Vosloo was moerse goed here already, and only god knows why they did not keep him.

Vosloo is not just another saffa doing well abroad. This is the next pieter DeVilliers of recently retiered France fame.

By: crikey_mate_did you see that shark

crikey_mate_did you see that shark — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:28:35 +0000

i really liked this chap in his few games for the vaal…

what a boytjie though… if my dearest sharks have any of their wits about they would sign Gerhard immediately! hard as they come!

By: rex

rex — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:54:47 +0000

The interesting thing is the ‘surprise’ experienced by his father in his behaviour as a teenager. The man encourages his son in a violent sport and then wonders why the kid is into fighting and has a tendency towards aggression. Like most of us he had a few setbacks and to his credit, he seems to have finally overcome his adversity – some of which appears to have been a result of his own folly. Essentially, his aggression has been channelled into rugby and he has avoided a life as an underdog. Another famous Frenchman has a similar story; Gerard Depardieu, who says that his pursuit of Acting as a career saved him. He famously said that had he not discovered Acting, he woud almost certainly have become a criminal. Given his resemblance to Depardieu one wonders whether Sebastian Chabal may have potential as a filmstar when he has finished scaring other rugby teams. And Vosloo resembles Schalk Burger enough that he could easily sub for him or play his character in a movie.

By: rugby911

rugby911 — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:12:00 +0000

There is some stuff he had to overcome left unsaid. Sa Bouncing = violence and hard drugs often at the same time. Use your imagination.

By: Loosehead

Loosehead — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:44:04 +0000

Nice article to read, could we have more like this?

By: Johannes Expatinus

Johannes Expatinus — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:43:05 +0000

Great story. He should be proud. But details of struggles won’t make any top 25. I believe a guy like Werner Greeff have had to endure a lot more. When death of loved ones, siblings etc don’t feature, don’t even tell the story.

By: Neil

Neil — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:24:43 +0000

I’m in agreement with Jonnow and Stephen – hardly sounds to me like the stuff of major struggle and strife.

But good on him for doing well in French rugby.

By: stephen

stephen — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:19:50 +0000

oh yawn ***

boo hoo…. if all he has had to worry about is not getting his working visa in the UK, the big deal..
there’s far more people facing far harder challengers in life to be impressed by this story..

on the rugby issue – i do remember him as making a big impression on me the few times he did play for the Lions, I remember thinking that he defnitely had the goods to go far. then he just disappeared…
seems like yet more talent the Lions let go,….. or chased away rather.

By: jonnow

jonnow — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:10:50 +0000

Interesting read and good on you Gerard Vosloo for making a few bucks playing rugga in France.

But talk of all these “debilitating blows” that he has faced sounds like a load of bollocks to me. From the article the biggest obstacles he had to overcome was banging his girfriend up and then being denied a work visa.

Please.

By: Nemesis

Nemesis — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:03:40 +0000

CRAZY-Shark
May 8th, 2008 at 1:57 pm

England have the largest pool of players, then SA, Aus has one of the very smallest.

By: bryce_in_oz

bryce_in_oz — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:01:23 +0000

UFC RULZ… I have the entire collection from the early days pre Zuffa 1-83 and all the Ultimate Fighter series’…

By: katman

katman — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:15:38 +0000

I agree that Gerhard wasn’t given the game time he deserved at the Lions. When he was given the opportunity, he invariably played a blinder. But too often he was given 15 minutes at the end to make his mark. Glad to see he’s turned things round.

By: CRAZY-Shark

CRAZY-Shark — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:57:17 +0000

Gerhard, good for you bud! The honest truth is; most of our university/club players over here could make some big bucks by playing for European clubs. Look at Roland De Marigny. He didn’t get a sniff at Sharks (Banana Boys back then) selection, but he went on to captain the Italian National team.

The skills pool is chalk and cheese between SA and Europe. In fact, I’d go as far as saying we have the biggest pool to select a national team from in all the world. And yes, that’s including those Ozzie Rule-playing, league-loving convicts!!

BOKKE!

SA Rugby, fantastic design on this article! Really!!