*This article was first published on lastwordonsports.com and appears courtesy of them
It’s the 20th anniversary of the Springboks’ first World Cup triumph. We look at what Kitch Christie’s squad is up to these days.
Andre Joubert
The “Rolls Royce” of fullbacks is the owner and manager of an office automation store in Durban. He’s a big fisherman and plays golf off a single figure handicap.
James Small
The one-time rebel of the team is involved in the restaurant business in Cape Town and has recently got into coaching, with the Pukke in the Varsity Cup and the Leopards.
Japie Mulder
He is now an employee at a telecommunications infrastructure company.
Hennie Le Roux
He founded the South African Rugby Players Association (Sarpa) to look after players’ needs and interests and along with his wife, he owns a luxury river safari lodge outside of Grahamstown.
Chester Williams
The man who dotted down four times against Western Samoa in the quarter-finals has spent most of his time coaching the game. He has had coaching assignments all over the world, including the Cats in Super Rugby, the South African 7s, Uganda, Tunisia and a club in Romania.
Joost vd Westhuizen
Following the 2003 World Cup he bowed out and quickly became involved with SuperSport, working as a commentator and analyst. Sadly the world’s best No9 contracted Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Motor Neuron Disease and is now in the advanced stages. He founded the J9 Foundation, which focuses on ALS/MND issues.
Joel Stransky
The hero of the final after THAT drop-goal is currently a commentator at SuperSport as well as a director in a capital management company. He also competes successfully in the “Tour de France” of mountain biking, the Cape Epic.
Mark Andrews
The towering lock who’d play eighthman in the semi-final and final is involved with former Springbok captain Gary Teichman in supplying mining equipment into Africa.
Ruben Kruger
The silent assassin owned an office automation business and several filling stations in Pretoria until he sadly passed away in January 2010 after a long fight against brain cancer.
Francois Pienaar
The Bok leader played for, coached and became CEO of Saracens in London after the World Cup. He also got involved in banking and marketing and played a major role in the establishment of the Varsity Cup.
Hannes Strydom
He is a successful pharmacist who owns stores in Pretoria and also helped develop pharmaceutical/supplementary products.
Kobus Wiese
He spends much of his time hosting shows and commentating for SuperSport. He’s also the owner of a successful coffee shop franchise and is the CEO of a coffee-roasting factory in Johannesburg.
Balie Swart
Balie went into business after the World Cup but is now more heavily involved with coaching and is Saru’s specialist scrum consult.
Chris Roussow
It is understood the man who took over from the James Dalton went into foreign stocks, while he’s also said to be involved in chicken farming.
Os Du Randt
Pieter (Os is his nickname) came out of retirement to win a second World Cup medal in 2007 and has spent much of the last few years coaching the Cheetahs forwards. He’s also involved in farming and is currently coaching in Japan.
The rest of the squad:
Marius Hurter (Prop): The powerful prop continued to play for some time after the 1995 tournament and also got involved in coaching. It is believed he is now a practising attorney.
Garry Pagel (Prop): After furthering his career in England Garry returned home and is now farming.
James Dalton (Hooker): “Bullet”, as he was commonly known, lives in Cape Town and is a businessman.
Naka Drotske (Hooker): A late addition to the squad following Dalton’s suspension, he won the Currie Cup for the Cheetahs as a player, manager and coach.He resigned recently and is now a businessman.
Krynauw Otto (Lock): He’s had spells as a coach, most specifically with the Valke (Currie Cup team), but has since turned his attention to business as a commercial executive for a company specialising in recycling.
Robbie Brink (Flank): Robbie played for many years after the World Cup and then became a successful property developer.
Rudolph Straeuli (Loose forward): Rudolph coached the Boks at the 2003 World Cup after having a successful spell as Sharks boss and is currently the CEO of the Golden Lions Rugby Union.
Adriaan Richter (Loose forward): The man who captained the Boks against Romania and Canada is farming in Limpopo.
Johan Roux (Scrumhalf): The back-up to Joost van der Westhuizen went into business and is currently an entrepreneur.
Brendan Venter (Centre): The midfielder played for and coached at London Irish and was director of rugby at Saracens. He’s been used as a specialist consultant by among others the Sharks and still practises as a medical doctor.
Christiaan Scholtz (Centre): He’s become a hugely successful antiques dealer and runs a business with his wife in Johannesburg.
Pieter Hendriks (Wing): Besides being an analyst and commentator for the SABC, the speedy winger is also involved with another Springbok legend, Ray Mordt, in the hydraulics industry.
Gavin Johnson (Fullback): The lanky fullback has business interests in Africa and owns and runs a number of tourist lodges in Zambia.
Kitch Christie (Coach): After coaching the Springboks to a then record of 14 consecutive wins, inclusive of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Christie left his post as Springbok coach. He briefly coached at both Northern Transvaal (The Bulls) in Super Rugby and the Falcons as a consultant in the Currie Cup. He succumbed to cancer in 1998.
The rest of the management team: Morné du Plessis (manager), Gysie Pienaar (assistant), Rudi Joubert (technical advisor), Dave Waterston (technical advisor), Hennie Bekker (consultant), Evan Speechly (physiotherapist), Frans Verster (doctor), Edward Griffiths (media liaison)
* The Star did its best to be as accurate as possible in compiling this list. We apologise if omissions have been made or facts are not 100percent accurate. Information obtained on the internet, lastwordonsports.com and from several players in the above group. - The Star