One of the defining sights of Western Province Rugby in the modern era is that of Corné Krige standing bloody, bruised and bandaged; but never bowed.
The former captain was tough as teak and played through tremendous pain to see his team home on many occasions. He was an inspirational leader, a crowd favourite, and still managed to stand out in a vibrant and young Western Province team that included the mesmerising talents of Bob Skinstad, Percy Montgomery, Breyton Paulse, Quinton Davids, Robbie Fleck and a host of other young stars that made up a true Blue & White Dream Team.
Born in Lusaka, he spent his first six years in Zambia. Krige started playing rugby at the age of nine. He was a natural athlete and was soon into athletics and swimming. He went on to complete his schooling at Paarl Boys’ High School.
Krige made his Western Province debut in 1996 and eventually went on to captain the side, leading the team to back-to-back Absa Currie Cup titles in 2000 and 2001. He was clearly a man destined to lead, as he captained his high school First XV, every single WP representative side from Under-13 to senior level, as well as the Stormers and the Springboks.
Nicknamed ‘Captain Courageous’ for his ability to play on despite looking like he’d just walked off a battlefield, Krige was famous for his crunching tackles and never-say-die attitude. Early in his career rumours would fly through schoolyards and pubs that he practiced his tackling on buck, such was the ferocity with which he would drive back the opposition.
After a long and successful career in the Western Cape, Krige moved on to a new challenge with the Northampton Saints in England.
Having retired from international rugby at just 28, though, Krige was determined to make his mark in England. When he arrived at Northampton, sceptical fans were further angered when the coach Alan Solomons made Krige the Northampton captain. But through hard work, typical Krige graft and a number of great performances he won the hearts of the fans. The Northampton players also came to greatly respect Krige – to such an extent that when Solomons resigned, Krige stepped down as captain only for the players to vote him back in as vice-captain.
Thanks to his many serious injuries over a stop-start career, Krige managed just 19 games in England, retiring from rugby completely at the age of 30. At the time, the Northampton boss John Steele said the club was sad to see Krige go, and that they would miss his “commitment and personable character”.
The former Bok captain returned to Cape Town and set up a business that is involved in outdoor advertising, which he still runs today. In that time, he’s also become something of a media celebrity, mainly thanks to his participation in the reality TV show Survivor SA and the Absa Cape Epic, the world’s toughest mountain bike race.
During Survivor Krige was a typically tough participant and team leader, but always encouraging of his teammates. During his rugby days Krige came in at around 100kg on the scales, but dropped down to 89kg after retirement. After 18 days on Survivor’s “island” he lost another 6kg, leaving him “skin and bones”.
“Let me tell you: it was entirely authentic. Nothing was staged,” Krige told IOL after the experience. “For 18 days, until I left the island, we had no toothbrush, toothpaste, toilet paper. Jeepers we were dirty.
“No soap. Your hair becomes wiry. Everyone said how amazing our hair was looking, because you just pulled it into place and it stayed there – because it was so filthy. I washed myself in the sea every day, but then you remained covered with the salt… ”
You can still find Krige covered in salt now, but that’s mainly due to his other passion outside of mountain biking; surfing.
CORNÉ’S CORNER:
Total Tests: 39
Tour matches: 4
Total Springbok matches: 43
Positions: Flank (38) Lock (1)
Province: Western Province (1998)
Springbok number: 676
Test debut: 19 June 1999 vs Italy in Durban aged 24
Last test: 8 November 2003 vs New Zealand in Melbourne aged 28
Win ratio: 18-21-0
Tours: British Isles & Ireland, 1998; Wales, 1999; Argentina, Ireland, Wales & England, 2000; France, Italy, England & USA, 2001 France, Scotland & England, 2002; RWC in Australia, 2003
Bok captaincy and honours:
– Captain in 18 Tests
– Captain of Springbok touring teams to France, Scotland & England, 2002 and to RWC in Australia, 2003
– SA Rugby Player of the Year nominee, 2000; Vodacom Rugby Super 12 Player of the Tournament, 2002.
DID YOU KNOW? When the Boks played Australia during the later years of Krige’s captaincy, he and Wallabies captain George Gregan shared an unusual distinction: both were born in the same hospital.
DHL Western Province Matchday Magazine
