WILLIE LE ROUX: As 400 first class games beckon, its time to recognise a rugby legend

This weekend one of South Africa’s most misunderstood players, a genius in his own right, will play his 400th first class game.

Springbok Willie le Roux, who is now 36 years old, has 101 test caps to his name and has no intention of retiring, continues to carve up the field, and show why he is so highly rated by every coach he has played for.

In essence, he is that once-in-a-generation player - a player who has both the brain and the feel for the game. Who can create something magical and who lives with his heart on his sleeve.

Many may get frustrated with Le Roux at times - his intense passion on the field and when some of his tricks don’t come off, but few will understand just how much he means to a team.

A total of 400 First class games is no mean feat in a sport where injuries are rife, and careers are short. Le Roux may have made way for younger talent in the Bok squad, but as a two-time World Cup winner, and a member of a centurion club in test rugby, there are few who can even come close to what he has achieved.

The Vodacom Bulls did everything they could to secure his services for as long as possible and it is easy to see why. Le Roux continues to be able to unlock a defence, find the perfect angle and make his backline look better.

HAD TO COME THROUGH CLUB RUGBY

Those 400 first class games read like a resume of success. After missing out on a contract after school, Le Roux had to carve out his own legacy, coming through the Boland Academy after a successful schools career at Paul Roos.

It took 39 Boland caps for someone to notice him, and it was his move to Griquas, where he played on the wing, where his career took off.

Eleven caps later and he was already a household name in South Africa, and earned himself a call-up to the Cheetahs Super Rugby squad and he received his first call-up from Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.

Le Roux played 58 times for the Cheetahs, had 61 caps in Japan for Toyota Verblitz and Canon Eagles in a sabbatical in the Far East and then played 61 times for Wasps, where he linked up with fellow oval ball magicians Danny Cipriati and Kurtley Beale.

His return to South Africa saw 13 caps for the Sharks, and now 55 for the Vodacom Bulls. His test record is 101 caps for the Springboks, two for the SA XV, one for the British Barbarians and one match for South Africa A. He has played more - a season as a youngster at Racing Metro where he played for the Espoires (Juniors) comes to mind.

I chatted to him just after his 100th test cap for Kickoff magazine, and his quotes are worth mentioning again in this milestone, which few players even get close to in their careers.

WALKED THE LONG ROAD

For one, he is quite content to have walked the long road, especially in an era where players want to play test rugby before they are 21.

“Yes, I believe so. Like I tell guys now who are playing URC at the age of 22, I played Boland club rugby - I played for Wellington against Roses in Wellington. I drove from Wellington to Montagu on a Saturday for a rugby game, and then if you were lucky you received petrol money and perhaps two brandies after the game,” he reminisces.

“That was what you got. I had to pay for myself to be at the Boland Academy because other people thought I wasn’t good enough to go to the Western Province Academy. That was the in-place those days - if you were going to make it from Paul Roos, you would go there.

To have played Boland club rugby, to play for Boland and all those games. When I was at Griquas, the games I played there were vital. I became a Springbok when I was contracted at Griquas. I think I made more money in my first few games at the Springboks than my entire contract at Griquas. It was very different back then.

“Everyone’s paths differ and often players get an opportunity and they take it straight away but then you get guys who played club rugby to get ahead. I played for Maties on a Friday night in club games at Hamiltons, where the field is wet and soggy. I think I’ve played just about everywhere (laughs).

THE PATH SHAPED HIM

“I then went to Racing Metro where I played for the Espoirs (Academy team) and there I played on a Sunday. I have played in every situation, on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday and in virtually every place. I came through all of that and it shaped me. You appreciate it a lot more and you need to show some more fight in another way.

“Someone, somewhere needed to give you a chance, and that was it. So I’m very happy - even though it wasn’t always easy - I’m very happy with the path I’ve taken.”

Le Roux hasn’t always been everyone’s favourite, and he is okay with that. He has always had his doubters, and he has always proved them wrong. Even now, in the twilight of such a long career, he knows there are people that still doubt him. And he feels it.

“To be honest, as you said, I’ve played 100 tests and it still feels like I have to prove myself. It still feels like I’ve got a point to prove. It feels like, whatever you do on the field, the things (mistakes) you did when you started your career, people forgave you and let it slide. You made mistakes at that stage and people could see past it, but now it feels as if people can’t look past any mistake you make on the field.

FEELS LIKE HE STILL HAS TO PROVE HIMSELF

“They would rather see that mistake and concentrate on that than see the good things that you do on the field. You always feel as if you have that chip on your shoulder, whether you have one test or 50 or 100, you always feel you have to go and prove yourself. It is what it is.

“I’ve accepted it. Coach Rassie also told me that if they don’t say anything, then you should be worried. If they talk, good or bad, then you know they are interested. That’s how my career has been, and that’s what it is. It gives me motivation to show them outside that I can still do it.”

Le Roux’s career has been so successful and his vision has been so glowingly talked about by so many coaches throughout his career, the big question is: what is next? Will he go into coaching, or sit back and reflect on a sensational career? It is something he hasn’t decided just yet. For now he just wants to play.

WILL HE COACH?

“I’m already grey, and I’m not coaching! Imagine what I would look like if I coach! I still want to play, and I’m not there yet. For me it is to play as long as I can. Ruan Pienaar, Morne Steyn, they almost played until they were 40. Ma’a Nonu is still playing. Then there is no reason that I can’t play until 40. If I can, it will be unbelievable. I want to play as long as I can.

“After that, it is a difficult question at this time. I don’t know. I know what coaches go through and you are away from home a lot. Do you coach at a school and be at home, or somewhere professional where you are away from home as much as you were when you played?

“You need to find that balance where it can work for you and your family. I’ve missed a lot over my career - friends, weddings etc. When I make that decision, the family will be a big part of that and will come first. I still think at this moment I want to be on the field rather than next to it.”

For now the Bulls are grateful to have him in the squad and Saturday will see an exceptional milestone being reached. 400 first class games is a helluva milestone for a battler. Le Roux has always been a battler and that is the way he will stay until the end.

And this weekend, while his teammate Stedman Gans celebrates 100 caps, it puts into perspective just how much Le Roux has done for the teams he has played for. 400 first class games, 101 tests, two World Cup winners medals and a bronze from the 2015 World Cup.

Try assists by the dozen.

In any other sport the word legend would be the easiest tag to hang on Le Roux.

And rugby fans locally should do the same.