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Top 50 Boks: Andre Venter
Wednesday, January 13
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We continue to name the Top 50 Springboks to don the Green and Gold since re-admission and it's exciting times as we now reach the final 10.
Some great players have represented South Africa in the past 17 years and we've decided to take a trip down memory lane and remember and list the SARugby.com 50 Greatest Springboks since re-admission.
Contribution to the Springboks, Test caps, tries and the sheer skill and brilliance of the players were considered as a panel of journalists worked out our list of honour.
Over the short rugby off-season, we will be working our way backwards from player number 50 towards our best Springbok player since re-admission.
Join us as we work our way through the list and let us know where you agree, or disagree, with our selections.
10 – André Venter
André Venter was one of the most consistent players to ever wear the Green and Gold of the Springboks. In his prime, the tough as nails Venter was regarded as one of the best flankers in the world. His height and agility also made him a solid lineout jumper – versatility that made him invaluable to the Bok side.
Venter earned 66 Test caps in all, 10 in the second row and 56 at flank, making him the most capped flank in Springbok history. His remarkable conditioning and unrivalled fitness is the stuff of legend with many considering him to be the fittest ever Springbok.
Venter was a prominent ball carrier who had deceptive pace. He relished the physical aspect of the game and was known as a brutal defender. He made his international debut against the All Blacks in Durban on August 17, 1996, and started in all three Tests against the British & Irish Lions the following year.
In 1998, he helped propel the Springboks to their first Tri-Nations title and was a key member of the 1999 World Cup squad. He scored one of his nine Test tries in the 46-29 win over Scotland in the opening pool match and played in all of South Africa’s games bar the pool match against Spain.
Venter’s scintillating form that season saw him honoured as SA Player of the Year. He remained a key cog in the Springbok outfit until he retired from international after the 43-20 win over USA in December 2001.
Venter continued playing on the domestic circuit for his beloved Cheetahs, for which he made over 100 appearances, before he hung up his boots for good at the end of the 2002 season. Four years later, Venter was sadly diagnosed with the rare disease Transverse Myelitis, which has left him paralysed.
Full Name: André Gerhardus
Surname: Venter
Position: Loose forward, Lock
Height: 1.97m
Weight: 110kg
Date of Birth: 14 November 1970
Place of Birth: Vereeniging
School: Blouskool, Kroonstad
Provincial Debut: Cheetahs
Tests: 66
Points: 45
Tries: 9
Test Debut: 17 August 1996 vs. New Zealand in Durban aged 25
Last Test: 1 December 2001 vs. USA in Houston aged 31
Records/Honours: SA Young Player of the Year, 1992; Tri-Nations winner, 1998; SA Player of the Year, 1999; Most capped flank in Springbok history (53)
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Really good player.
Sterke ou grote
Rest of the top 10 is fairly obvious by now... in no particular order:
Os, Smit, Percy, Pienaar, Matfield, Schalk, Jouba, FdP, Mark Andrews.
I do agree that some forwards who aren't there should have made the list (Andre Vos springs to mind).