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The forgotten star ignored by the Springboks for the guts of 14 years

By Online Editors
(Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)

There are a lot of talented and exciting players that never got the opportunity to play for their national team. One of them is Sarel Pretorius. In his prime, Pretorius, who is now 36 and playing Pro14 rugby with the Southern Kings, was one of the most exciting scrumhalves in the game.

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He had a knack for breaking open opposition defences and scoring tries. Despite his last season of Super Rugby being in 2015, he still holds a number of records for a scrumhalf in the Southern Hemisphere’s premier competition.

The livewire Pretorius has scored the most tries (19) of any scrumhalf from South Africa in Super Rugby across the decade (2011-2020) and fourth-most amongst all No.9s. Pretorius is the only scrumhalf from South Africa to have recorded 50+ in offloads (73) and clean breaks (52) as he gained the most metres (1,904) of any South African player in the last decade.

Video Spacer

BBC’s quest for glory continues…

The game of the season hangs in the balance with the Premiership in reach but
a series of crucial errors leaves the home crowd stunned. Halfback Will Stevens spends quality time with his mother as the academic workload starts to increase. Round 7 takes the team to Toowoomba where their focus and attitude are put to the test, while one of the injured players prepares for shoulder surgery. As the season starts to reach its inevitable conclusion, the players prepare for their sternest test yet – an away game against Nudgee College – where BBC has not won since the 1980’s.

Video Spacer

BBC’s quest for glory continues…

The game of the season hangs in the balance with the Premiership in reach but
a series of crucial errors leaves the home crowd stunned. Halfback Will Stevens spends quality time with his mother as the academic workload starts to increase. Round 7 takes the team to Toowoomba where their focus and attitude are put to the test, while one of the injured players prepares for shoulder surgery. As the season starts to reach its inevitable conclusion, the players prepare for their sternest test yet – an away game against Nudgee College – where BBC has not won since the 1980’s.

He notched up those stats playing for two teams, the Cheetahs and the Waratahs, in one season – 2012. Pretorius was South Africa’s Super Rugby Player of the Year in 2011.

He was also the joint top try-scorer in Super 15 that year.

Even though he ranked high in the stats department, Pretorius never reached Test level rugby and at his ripe age it un all likelihood will never happen.

The closest he has been to Test level was playing for the Emerging Springboks. The other top scrumhalf for South Africa over the last decade is the Lions’ Ross Cronje.

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Cronje has produced the most try involvements (seven tries, 30 try assists) of any South African No.9 across this period. Cronje (104) is the only South African scrumhalf to have beaten 100+ defenders in Super Rugby in the last decade and one of five overall in his position.

Two New Zealanders – the Hurricanes’ Thomas Perenara (107) and the Highlanders’ Aaron Smith (105) – lead the way for the most try involvements by scrumhalves in the last decade of Super Rugby.

No other No.9 has reached the century mark in that time.

Perenara’s position at the top is even more impressive when you consider the fact that he is the only player overall in Super Rugby in the last 10 years to have recorded 50+ tries and 50+ try assists – indeed an outstanding effort.

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Jon 4 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

35 Go to comments
j
john 6 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

30 Go to comments
A
Adrian 8 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

30 Go to comments
T
Trevor 11 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
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