From Bok 7s to Newcastle: Werner Kok can't wait for 'special moment'

Werner Kok and the Newcastle Red Bulls players have been winding Christian Wade up as the former England wing bids to overtake Chris Ashton as the greatest try scorer in Gallagher PREM rugby history.

Wade’s 101st try in the 17-3 win over Sale brought him level with Ashton heading into this weekend’s clash at Saracens before the league takes a break during the November internationals.

Kok and his teammates are desperate for Wade to become the leading try scorer, but that hasn’t stopped them taking the mickey out of the 35-year-old who quit rugby to play American Football before returning to the sport.

Kok is the livewire former sevens star with the flowing locks, who operates on the other wing for Red Bulls.

“We are actually giving Christian a bit of grief and have told him he is going to have to work for this try to beat the record. Even if he makes an intercept, both teams are going to hunt him down!” said Kok.

“But really, we can’t wait for the moment when he breaks the record. He deserves it having gone away from the Prem for four years, coming back and doing this in eight seasons of league rugby which is so impressive.

“He is so physical and is the ultimate professional in the way he looks after himself and shows that age is just a number. He still competes with the younger players at 35 and is one of those guys who could go on and play until he is 40.”

Newcastle can boast two uniquely talented wings as Kok’s stellar career as a member of the Springbok sevens team helped him to win a Man versus Car challenge against Top Gear star James May, who was in a Nissan GT-R which can do 0-60 mph in 2.7sec and has a top speed of 193mph.

The stunt took place in South Africa in 2015 shortly after Kok had been named the World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year.

Kok, a member of the South African Sevens team that won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, explained: ”The race was in an indoor arena where the Clarkson, Hammond & May Live world tour show was taking place. It was over 100 metres and James May was in a Nissan GT-R and it was a shuttle run which meant running 50m and then turning around and doing another 50m.

“The problem for James was that the Nissan was tough to get into reverse gear and they gave him so much grief and I got him on the turn. I did six shows and beat him every time over the three days and it was cool to be able to do that.

“It was just after being named World Sevens Player of the Year in 2015 and I got tickets to the shows for all my friends and family who loved it.”

Kok, 33, who played for Stormers, Toulouse and Sharks (Durban) arrived at Kingston Park with his wife Zanyika this season on a one-year deal from Ulster as part of the large contingent of new players funded by the Red Bull investment designed to turn the club into title contenders after years of languishing at the bottom of the league.

It’s a world away from Nelspruit where Kok grew up close to the Kruger National Park in the far North East of South Africa. The rough and tumble of tumble of life in the South African veld and a household in which both parents were personal trainers prepared Kok, whose muscled physique has earned him the nickname Tarzan, for life in sport and a sevens career that took him all over the world.

Kok has very few mementos from his sevens career due to a burglary at a storage facility in Cape Town during the Covid lockdown period but has not given hope of finding them again.

“We were moving house from Cape Town to Durban and the jerseys I had collected during my sevens career were in storage but because of the pandemic lockdown the place wasn’t checked that often and someone broke in and stole all the jerseys and we are still looking for them,” he explained.

“The 2016 Olympic medal is kept in a safe but the jersey from Rio and my 50th Blitzboks match jersey are somewhere in Cape Town and all of them have my number 5 on the back. So, if anyone comes across a team with No.5 on the back of all the jerseys they will know those are mine!”

Now he is in the North East of England with a trip to Saracens the next assignment and a potential clash with Noah Caluori, one of the rising stars of English rugby.

Fixture

Gallagher Premiership

Saracens

08:00

31 Oct 26

Newcastle

All Stats and Data

The 6ft 4ins Saracens wing has already established a reputation as one of the best high ball catchers in the sport so how will 5ft 10 ins Kok deal with this threat?

“I know he is big but I also know I can bring something different on the edge and I like being really physical and even if I let him catch the ball I can then overpower him in the breakdown. That is something that is my Super Power.

“The Blitzboks weren’t the biggest squad on the sevens circuit and we had to work at being really physical at the breakdown and jackal and the work we did made us better on the floor. It’s about making a hit and getting back up to compete at the breakdown.”

The triumph in stormy conditions over Sale signalled the revamped squad’s first league victory and while they have a long way to go become title contenders, Kok believes that was a key moment for the club.

“The win over Sale was really important and we have this exciting style of rugby we are implementing:” he added.

“The win was exactly what we needed and showed that way we play we are going to score tries while our defence against Sale was also important and something the squad can be proud of delivering.”

Having fallen in love with the North East, Kok is hoping to extend his stay in Newcastle, and said: “There is always a hope of another year and it will all depend on how things go but I can see myself living here for three or four years because the people and city are amazing and we have settled in really well.”