Bok skipper Whiteley’s ‘dream week’ not over yet
SPRINGBOK captain Warren Whiteley couldn’t have dreamt of a better week in his life.
Whiteley, who was named the 58th Bok skipper two weeks ago, welcomed the birth of his second child and first son, Samuel, with his wife Felicity on Monday.
“I could never have dreamt of such an exciting week as it has been, it’s probably why I’m so grateful. Everything has gone so well it has actually been easier than I expected,” he said yesterday.
“I had a lot of support here in the camp and at home, so I’m extremely grateful.
“It has been (quite a ride). I’m not sure what I would tell him (Samuel). I guess, more than anything, just to believe in what you want to do one day and follow that.
“I could never have scripted this week, never. I’m just really grateful. I’ve really enjoyed it every single moment.”
“But the cherry on the cake is the game this weekend and that is where it gets special,” the former Glenwood High pupil said.
Whiteley, 29, will be judged by South African rugby supporters today not as a father, but as the leader of the Boks and how they perform against France at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
The Boks endured their worstever season last year, winning only four of 12 Tests.
Bok coach Allister Coetzee has included four debutants in his starting XV to face the French, with a fifth on the bench. The men in green and gold have also not lost at Loftus in over a decade.
Whiteley has embraced the challenge that awaits his team, and he believes that his inexperienced side has the perfect opportunity against Les Bleus to win back the nation’s trust.
“It is massive opportunity. I believe each team has an individual culture and it can’t be created by one person, it has to be created by the collective and it is a lot more effective that way,” he said.
“We as a team decide how we want to form this culture. We spoke about it openly and everyone had a chance to say what they thought was important.”
“More than anything, it’s about establishing that brotherhood and that environment where we can become family and embrace each other as individuals – that’s what we are all about as Springboks,” Whiteley added.
“We are a diverse nation and team and we need to embrace that. That is what we have been doing, and that’s fantastic.”
THE SPRINGBOKS begin their quest for redemption after their annus horribilis in 2016 when they face France at Loftus Versfeld today in the first of three Tests this month.
The Boks could hardly have ended last year on a worse note when they lost their second-last match of the season to lowly Italy, marking a low point in their proud history.
But the gloom has been swept aside and the portents are that an invigorated Bok team will hit the ground running today with a brand of rugby that will not only win matches but thrill supporters.
There is a new energy about the team and in Allister Coetzee, a coach who will be much the wiser in his second year in charge. He has been positive and cautious this week when speaking about the “new beginnings” for him and his team.
Coetzee is a coach stung by criticism – “we are not living in a fool’s paradise” – but has spoken about a vibrant group of players who want to set the record straight.
He has selected seven Lions players in his starting XV for today’s clash and while some hoped for more personnel from South Africa’s form Super Rugby side, the spine of the team will marshal the way the Boks play.
That will hopefully be expansive and – most pertinently – winning rugby. The Lions have been our standard-bearers the last three seasons and the “King of the Pride”, Warren Whiteley, has been chosen as the 58th man to captain the Boks. He is an immensely positive character and the ideal candidate to lead a team out of the dark and into the light.
The men in green and gold are an important part of South African culture. They are twotime Rugby World Cup champions and have brought much joy to their country. Every South African will be wishing Coetzee, Whiteley and Co the very best as they begin this fresh chapter of Springbok rugby.