Western Province Rugby extend their condolences to the family and friends of former Springbok and Western Province hooker, Charlie Cockrell, who passed away on 4 October in Cape Town. He was 85.

Western Province Rugby extend their condolences to the family and friends of former Springbok and Western Province hooker, Charlie Cockrell, who passed away on 4 October in Cape Town. He was 85.

Cockrell became Springbok #441 when he made his Test debut on 6 December 1969 against Scotland in Edinburgh, aged 30, on the 1969/70 tour to the British Isles & Ireland.

He played in three Tests and seven tour matches during his career. When selected for the tour, he was the Paarl Rugby club’s 13th Springbok (and last).

As a Western Province player, he played in 66 matches between 1963 and 1971.

His famous heel against the head in the 1969 Currie Cup semifinal, with seconds left to play and WP trailing, resulted in his side scoring the winning points to go into the final.

He later moved to the Noordelikes club in Parow and also coached De Beers in Kimberley and Griquas in the Currie Cup in 1975.

He was also assistant coach for WP when they won the Currie Cup five times in a row between 1982-1986. His brother, Robert, also became a Springbok hooker in 1974 (Springbok # 486).