Troubles of a white wing
21 Apr 2010
Gerhard van den Heever faces immense obstacles in his quest to earn Springbok selection.
The Bulls wing wants to go to the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand. And in an ideal world, one uncomplicated by Bryan Habana’s legacy and accepted but flawed selection norms, he’d have a realistic hope too.
This, after all, is the kid who ended his rookie season in 2009 having scored 11 tries in 19 provincial matches, and at the time of writing had bagged four in seven Super 14 starts. Rich in promise and with all the technical and physical attributes a modern wing needs to be successful, his Springbok ambition isn’t misplaced.
But his is a unique battle – one that no other elite South African wing has to fight.
It’s one, firstly, for acceptance and appreciation among the Loftus disciples, who are still in mourning after the passing – figuratively speaking – of their messiah, Habana. Van den Heever is yet to prove he is worthy of lacing Habana’s boots, let alone filling them.
Those in the know at the Bulls tell me he’s quicker than Habana (a South African champion hurdler at school, he once ran 13.7sec over 110m and boasts a 200m best of 20.9). He’s quicker than that now, but speed alone will never see him escape Habana’s haunting shadow.
Habana’s legend was built on feats of brilliance, the most memorable of which came at Kings Park in 2007. That last-gasp try against the Sharks captured the Bulls’ first Super 14 title. Appreciation for Habana became reverence. Whoever succeeded him would be judged by the standard he had set.
Habana was the Bulls’ adrenalin-charged central nervous system, renowned for his ability to spark the team into life with impossibly brilliant feats. Viewed in this context, Van den Heever’s lot is not an enviable one.
He addresses the subject of being compared to Habana with the naivety of the man-child that he is.
‘People shouldn’t compare me to Bryan,’ he says. ‘Of course they shouldn’t,’ I counter, ‘but the reality is they do and are, and will continue to for some time.’
‘I can’t control that. I can’t control what people think. I just know I’m my own man. Bryan is the best wing in the world. Nobody can fill his boots,’ is his rebuttal.
‘Sure,’ I probe further, ‘but as unrealistic as the expectation is, the nature of people is to measure the replacement of an exceptional player by the standards that player has set. Let me ask you this, where do you think you stand in the Bulls supporters’ estimation?
‘I don’t know. I haven’t thought about that.’
Of course he hasn’t. The question was a foolish one to pose to a 20-year-old who was probably oblivious to the issue until I raised it. Such complexities didn’t register with him. Keeping his starting place through consistent performance is his primary, all-consuming, objective. But his ignorant bliss will soon be disturbed by the realisation of the magnitude of the task ahead. The Bulls’ faithful are looking for a new demi-god to worship. Van den Heever’s mortality will only be tolerated for so long. Supernatural is what is demanded.
‘That’s unfair pressure to put on a youngster,’ Bulls coach Frans Ludeke says. ‘We see a bright future for Gerhard, but we’re realistic about his development and understand that we need to have patience with him.
‘Bryan was a special player who will forever be remembered as a legend at Loftus. But I think it’s testament to Gerhard’s talent that people compare him to Bryan. Even Bryan said he [Van den Heever] is a better player at 20 than he was at the same age. That’s a massive compliment and he will only improve.
‘We’re giving him time and space to progress naturally. I hope others will do the same.’
Van den Heever could have done without Habana weighing in on the issue of his successor in a post-match interview after their Currie Cup triumph in 2009.
It was a throwaway line: ‘I think Gerhard has the potential to be a Bulls and Springbok great.’ The implications of which Habana didn’t consider at the time. He was paying a massive compliment to his heir apparent, but inadvertently dumped a jersey that weighed 100kg on the kid and slipped lead boots on to his feet.
Van den Heever remains unfazed.
‘That comment never made me feel burdened. Why would it? I grew up idolising Bryan and for me to feel down about him saying kind things like that about me to the media would be foolish.’
But there is an uncertainty detectable in Van den Heever’s voice. Earlier he told me ‘I back my ability’ when asked if he ever felt inhibited by a fear of failure, then later admits that he ‘sometimes’ thinks he is out of his depth.
That inconsistency isn’t unexpected from one so young. It does, however, remind us that Van den Heever’s is as much a battle to emerge from Habana’s shadow, as it is one for emotional and cognitive equilibrium.
Then there’s the issue of Springbok selection and the World Cup, which poses an altogether new challenge.
Not since Nick Mallett routinely penned Pieter Rossouw’s name on the team sheet has a Springbok coach consistently selected a white wing.
This has become the domain of the dark-skinned player, and the prospects of the perception that white is whack changing are slim, unless Van den Heever plays so exceptionally that he makes himself invaluable to the Springboks.
And even if he should master levitation, acquire a jet pack and blow his opposition away in the coming year, he would still be competing for just one position, given that Springbok coach Peter de Villiers is highly unlikely to look beyond Habana as his starting left wing.
That leaves Van den Heever competing with eight wingers (at the time of writing, all of whom were black, and one of who, JP Pietersen, is a World Cup winner) for the right wing berth.
‘If I suggested those were insurmountable odds, what would your response be?’
‘I don’t think like that,’ he says, ‘I don’t think about the issues you’ve raised, or all the wingers I have to get past to make the Springbok squad. Maybe it’s naive, but I’d like to think that if I’m the best of the bunch I’ll get picked.’
‘But that hasn’t been the reality of Springbok rugby recently,’ I interject. ‘The best players sometimes don’t get picked for various reasons.’
‘The Springbok coach has said on a number of occasions that he will reward those who perform consistently. I can only trust that he stays true to his word,’ he says.
Only time will tell whether Van den Heever will die in the darkness cast by Habana’s shadow, or whether he’ll stay the execution and build a legacy of his own. This year’s rugby season will be decisive in answering that question.
Time is not an ally. Conclusions about his aptitude for Super Rugby will be drawn at the end of their 2010 campaign, or perhaps sooner, without due consideration of his age. Even exceptional performances will still not guarantee that he even gets a passing glance from the Springbok selectors.
Welcome to the world of Gerhard van den Heever. It isn’t a place for the faint-hearted.
By Ryan Vrede
– This article first appeared in the April issue of SA Rugby magazine. The May issue is on sale now.
566 Comments
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21 Apr 2010, 15:56 pm
@Soda: Pretending to be black ? :/
But seriously check this out you wont be dissapointed
ttp://www.thekoalition.com/listendownload-b-o-b-airplanes-pt-2-feat-eminem-and-hayley-williams/
21 Apr 2010, 15:56 pm
@Dusky: but still, you guys only have one more then us, not a big difference…
21 Apr 2010, 15:57 pm
^h
21 Apr 2010, 15:57 pm
@poppa69: the question is, when last did NZ beat the Boks HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA WHITE WASH comes to mind
21 Apr 2010, 15:58 pm
@poppa69: Lucky for you guys actually to have France in your pool. The All Blacks could make it all the way to the semi-finals this time.
21 Apr 2010, 15:58 pm
McTugger – when was the last time you guys beat France?
21 Apr 2010, 15:59 pm
I want feedback about my new track chaps
21 Apr 2010, 15:59 pm
@MacToogie: when was the last time you guys nilled the ABs at home?
I know we did it to you in 08, was it 19-0…I think so
bwahahahaha and wasnt that the World Champion team? getting pantsed? at home?
bwahahahahaahahahahahaahahahahahahaha
21 Apr 2010, 16:00 pm
@poppa69: When did you guys win the world cup ? 1987 ?
So, its more than 20 years. Its 23 years already….going on 24 for the world cup next year.
Thats about as long as the period in between Cheetah Currie Cup trophies.
21 Apr 2010, 16:01 pm
@poppa69: you see there you go off topic again. im trying to find the stats of when last but its taking a while, why dont you just tell me when?
21 Apr 2010, 16:02 pm
@Dusky: That does NOT count. The strongest team in the world at the time wasnt present. NZ have yet to win a world cup.
21 Apr 2010, 16:03 pm
Sigh, nothing like an article about a wing to bring out the Xenephobia.
21 Apr 2010, 16:03 pm
49-0 Aussie
53-3 England WTF!!!
be proud..
21 Apr 2010, 16:03 pm
@Dusky: you mean sharks and CC trophies =P
21 Apr 2010, 16:04 pm
@poppa69: @ 398
yes we understand this bud…
what you’re not grasping is…
we were in the same pool as the poms in 2007… we still met in the final…!!
being in the pool with the frogs… (hehehe…) doesn’t exclude meeting them again… later…
just my 2c…
21 Apr 2010, 16:04 pm
@poppa69: 3 in a row mate
21 Apr 2010, 16:06 pm
@Eminem: this is also true, there’ no more restrictions on SA to help NZ win the RWC, they had to do everything in their power to make sure the RWC is in NZ just so they can win it agian, and i hear its the first one that’s going to run at a MAJOR MAJOR loss
21 Apr 2010, 16:06 pm
@ufo: I agree, but if we do meet them it will also be the final, because we are in the same pool we will go to opposite sides of the draw…
21 Apr 2010, 16:08 pm
@poppa69: You know what the difference is ? The All Blacks have definitely declined.
In years past, I could recite the entire All Black side without a problem – and you guys had SUPER players….like McCaw & Carter….Chris Jack….
But now – none of your players are really standing out. In fact, Carter looks decidedly average as does McCaw…Off hand, I cant even tell who the All Black supporters will select.
With the Stormers coming up so strongly this year, Pieter De Villiers has a massive pool of form players to select from, but, most importantly there is one clear selection in almost every position.
Lots of people say that the 2009 Bok team was one of the strongest, if not the strongest ever…but I think the 2011 Bok team will be even better….by quite a bit actually.
We just need to get PdV to select Francois Steyn at 15. Thats the only position I am unsure about.
21 Apr 2010, 16:09 pm
@poppa69:
so… nervous bud…???
21 Apr 2010, 16:09 pm
@poppa69: Dude, dont delude yourself, your NZ has no one coming through that has the balls to take the trophy, AUs, France and Boks bud, get used to it, i bet Wales or Ireland knock you out next year.
21 Apr 2010, 16:10 pm
@MacToogie: No, even the Sharks are not as bad as the All Blacks. We only had 12 years between trophies. Thats very much better than 24 years….and there is no guarantee even that the All Blacks will win next year. So – it could advance to 28 years…eish….
I reckon the Boks will become the first team to defend a world title. They are going to have one hell of a team !
21 Apr 2010, 16:10 pm
@MacToogie: I know. Especially after France did such a magnificent job in 2007. Should have definetlely gone to Japan.
21 Apr 2010, 16:11 pm
@Eminem: 411: True actually.
21 Apr 2010, 16:12 pm
@Dusky: PREACH THAT GOSPEL REVEREND DUSKY, AAAAMEN!!!!!! Poopa, pick us a NZ team please son, let us see what you got?
21 Apr 2010, 16:12 pm
@MacToogie: Well, the NZRU is pretty much bankrupt already. The can’t afford video ref’s at all the NPC games. The NPC runs at a loss. They are flogging matches again the AB’s to the highest bidder just to make ends meet, which will only end up cheapening their brand. And all that money they spent of their preparations for the previous RWC was just money down the toilet. It will be interesting to see of they can come back from all this – it must eventually affect the quality of their side. Even luring Hayman back was out of their grasp, such dire straits.
21 Apr 2010, 16:13 pm
@Dusky:
sheesh bud… setting us up for a fall there…
the ABs can still put together a world-beating team…
remember when Mallet was coach…? we got pummelled by the ANZAC sides… but Mallet wasn’t worried cause he could still put a strong Bok side together… and we won the 3N…
the ABs are in exactly the same position and could just as easily whup us in the 3N… and WC next year…!!
21 Apr 2010, 16:13 pm
does NZ even know who their best 15 and 22 are?
that is their real concern only a year or so out from world cup.
21 Apr 2010, 16:14 pm
@Dusky: Yeah. Just an amateaur rugby tournament like the next one. 1995 was the first proffesional rugby world cup.
21 Apr 2010, 16:14 pm
i think Henry has proven to be a poor selector on a number of occassions.
21 Apr 2010, 16:15 pm
@ufo: nah not at all… as Ive said a few times, keep writing my team off…
yep, we have no hope in hell of winning a tournament in our backyard, in our conditions, that will be contested in over a years time…
considering the opposition
SA have won there 2 times in the last 11 years
Aussie have not won against us in the last 7 games.
France have won 1 game in their last 16 years in NZ
yep, no hope in hell have we…
we may as well just not have the tournament and declare those 3 sides joint winners…
lets hope SA doesnt have Barnes for any of their games in the tourney, we all seen the hatred for the man after your loss to Aussie in Brissy last year..
21 Apr 2010, 16:15 pm
@CharlieBrown: Ahhhhhh thanks for that Charlie, so its even worse than i thought, getting nervous yet Poopa?
21 Apr 2010, 16:15 pm
But then I think Twakkie has been bizzarre in this regard as well on occassions.
21 Apr 2010, 16:16 pm
@poppa69:
poppa bud… I don’t write your team off at all…
see my post above…
21 Apr 2010, 16:18 pm
@poppa69:
also wrong about Barnes… I really rate him as a ref…
would rather him than any of the OzMob…
21 Apr 2010, 16:19 pm
@poppa69: so you going to blame everyone except how **** your team was in that game against france, the english hate france so you had Barnes in your corner son, i’m still waiting for you to pick a NZ team for us boy, show us what you got, do you even know the players?
21 Apr 2010, 16:20 pm
@ufo: well, I bet if my team did beat them they would not show their faces at all… I know their type well, fair weather idiots who shout the loudest when theyre winning, but disappear when theyre not..
not one ounce of decency between them, and not one man amongst them either…
catch you later mate… sick of this my teams better then your team ****… no wonder there is never many foreigners on this site, the average class of the SA male is on full show for everyone here, and its not a pretty sight..
21 Apr 2010, 16:20 pm
@Brigadier Van Zyl: Twakkie and ****…SARU’s very own comedy hour
21 Apr 2010, 16:21 pm
@MacToogie: I think a Kiwi recently said they have been punching above their weight for a few years now.
The only reason their ‘brand’ was so successful was that they used to sweep all before them – they were the invincibles (except at RWC time). What South Africa has done in the last two seasons is completely destroy that aura, and along with the RWC failure, noone really fears them anymore. Even France went over there and played like they believed they could beat them. The trouble for the AB’s is not South Africa, who have their selection up’s and down’s. It’s now the rest of the world that believe they will beat them too if they follow the Bok game plan.
21 Apr 2010, 16:22 pm
@MacToogie: no, I actually blame GHs rest and rotation policy as well as his poor selection policy for that game, by cheapening the jersey and having a 2 squad team he effectively didnt know his strongest side, thus the players were never sure of each other either..
but then you dont want to hear my opinion, you just want to continue mockign and deriding me for something I have no control over..
so go ahead, have your little laughs and your moment in the sun..
standing ovation here
BRA-phucking-VO!
21 Apr 2010, 16:23 pm
@Storm outta hell:
ain’t that the truth.
please sweet Mary, no press conferences for Twakkie this year.
Rather send Bakkies, his grunting and drooling is often more understandable,albeit, not quite so funny.
21 Apr 2010, 16:23 pm
@poppa69:
you’re probably right poppa…
chin up bud… it’s never easy between the ABs and Boks… and as the guys keep saying about the Stormers… a few wins don’t make a flock of swallows…
we’ll be just as nervous playing the ABs… any and every time we play you guys… anyone who says otherwise is kidding themselves…
21 Apr 2010, 16:23 pm
@MacToogie: To be fair, Mac, both teams were **** in that game, the AB’s were just crapper on the day and make a few strategic mistakes. It happens, but in a knock-out it’s fatal.
21 Apr 2010, 16:24 pm
@CharlieBrown: yep, 7 straight games against Aussie and no tries in 8 matches against NH opposition… solid argument champ..
21 Apr 2010, 16:25 pm
@poppa69: Poppa, I hope for your sake GH has learned his lesson. Although, there won’t be as much money to have a double squad playing this time around – perhaps a blessing in disguise.
21 Apr 2010, 16:27 pm
@poppa69: I think referring back to history is a grave mistake when it comes to the Springboks.
It should be abundantly clear, even to someone deaf and dumb that something is coming right in SA rugby.
I recall Eddie Jones saying once ‘Beware the day that South Africa start to get things right’
I think judgement day has arrived.
21 Apr 2010, 16:27 pm
sheesh… the guys who go on about Stormers supporters being windgat… are demonstating who are the real windgat fans of SA Rugby…
farking embarrassing guys…
21 Apr 2010, 16:27 pm
@poppa69: did you get the pic?
21 Apr 2010, 16:29 pm
@poppa69:
but that is a ridiculous statement.
Do I have a voice withregards to who is selected for the Boks.
But true that Henry did give the impression that whoever he put on the park was good enough. Probably got ahead of himself having seen how his side klapped France at home a few months earlier.
but what exactly is the kiwis best 15.
1.woodcock
2.hoare
3.
4.Thorne
5.
6.Kaino
7.mcCaw
8.
9.
10.Carter
11.
12.
13.Smith
14.
15.Mils
Way to many positions open to debate so close to the worldcup in my opinion. And,I’d even say that Thorne’s position is debatable as well.
21 Apr 2010, 16:29 pm
@poppa69: Yet you lost to France at home. A very junior French side with none of their stars. And but for some appalling refereeing, the French would’ve taken the series. The aura is gone, delude yourself if it makes you feel better, but the AB’s will lose more and more and more against all opposition.
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