It was during the 2002 Craven Week that I first witnessed the talents of a young Ruan Pienaar - the legendary Gysie’s son.
He played scrumhalf for Free State Cheetahs in a team that included fellow future Springbok greats Bismarck du Plessis and Morne Steyn.
Now, 22 years later Pienaar, who turned 40 last Sunday, announced his retirement from the professional game earlier in the week.
He will hang up his boots at the end of the SA Cup which starts on Thursday and ends on the weekend of 25 May.
Here’s the thing, though, Pienaar deserves a better sending off than a second-tier local tournament that features South Africa’s smaller unions.
Why? Because he was one of those “generational talents”.
In fact, South African rugby - at least to my recollection, which I will back up with stats - have not seen a rare talent like him since.
What impressed me about schoolboy Pienaar was his ability to create something out of absolutely nothing.
He had it all as a No.9 - the kicking game, the service, the ability to keep defenders guessing around the fringes, the defence, you name it.
This is not to mention his cognitive skills - the man has great vision and anticipation. He has a good “feel” for the game.
Such is his talent that Pienaar is the only player to have donned the Springboks’ No.9, No.10 and No.15 jersey as a starter.
We have seen other Springbok scrumhalves such as Grant Williams and Cobus Reinach start on the wing, but it takes a special player to be able to be trusted in all three of those positions.
The other anomaly at the base of the scrum is of course the legendary Doc Danie Craven.
Most of us probably only remember him because he has a stadium named after him in Stellenbosch, but the once-great rugby administrator played No.8, inside centre, scrumhalf and flyhalf for the Springboks.
Digging a little deeper, the only other player to have worn the Springbok No.9 and 10 jersey is a guy called Mannetjies Michau in 1900. But whatever.
Craven played the last of his 16 Tests in 1938, so you can see how rare a talent Pienaar is.
To illustrate just how good he is, the 40-year-old is the current Currie Cup Player of the Year - an award he won last week.
That just proves that his talent is not all about motor skills.
Pienaar hangs up his boots with 88 Test matches to his name - the 10th most of all Springboks, having played his last match in the Green and Gold in 2015.
A World Cup winner in 2007, Pienaar started 34 Tests at scrumhalf, seven at flyhalf and four at fullback. It’s a pity he never got to 100, but what a player he is and was nonetheless and here’s to wishing him all the best with life after rugby.
From a player announcing his retirement to a coach that demoted himself.
And here I tip my hat to now-former Blitzboks coach Sandile Ngcobo, who will now take charge of the Academy side instead of the senior team.
I was going to write this column about South Africa’s struggles in Sevens and the coach last week, but midway through Rassie Erasmus made his Siya Kolisi revelation and the game plan changed.
Ook maar goed, because the next day the South African Rugby Union announced a Blitzboks shakeup.
Let me refresh your memory with their press release: “The Springbok Sevens coaching team has been reformatted and a review of the Sevens department’s structure is being undertaken as a response to disappointing results...
“Head coach Sandile Ngcobo has returned to the role of coach to the next generation of sevens players, while Philip Snyman (assistant coach) has taken over as head coach of the Blitzboks until the end of July. The changes were made at the suggestion of Ngcobo…”
It’s the last sentence that has me.
Firstly, if this is indeed the case and not just a behind-the-scenes handshake and an oulike press release to make it appear that the coach made the decision himself, then I tip my hat to Ngcobo for realising that perhaps he’s in over his head.
It begs the question, why does he have to tell his bosses that he will step down, why are we so scared to shake things up in South African sport?
Surely there has to be key performance indicators (KPIs) that measure your performance with on-field results in this case.
Either way, Ngcobo will be better for the experience and I reckon he will be back in the hotseat in years to come.
He had just turned 33 when he was given the job and not being one of the “big” names on the circuit during his playing days for the Blitzboks, he was always going to be up against it at such a young age.
As for the guys at SA Rugby, good luck to another weird appointment in my view in general manager Dave Wessels - the former Force and Rebels coach.
In his own words: “My job will be to offer support and create systems that will ensure sustained success for South Africa’s teams into the future…”
Let’s hope those KPIs are clearly stated…
Sidenote: Aren’t there any guys that have served and worked locally over the last few years that could have taken this job?