Baywatch: Calling it a day
Lions flank Cobus Grobbelaar will hang up his boots at the completion of this season's Currie Cup, which could end in Saturday's semi-final with Western Province.
The veteran loose forward has played a record 112 matches for the Golden Lions, as well as 70 Super Rugby matches for the Lions and 24 for the Cats.
'Baywatch', as he is also called, first burst onto the senior scene in 2003 when he played Currie Cup rugby for the Golden Lions. In 2004, he made his Super 12 debut playing for the Cats - a combined team of the Lions and Cheetahs. He played well enough in that year's Super 12 campaign to be included in the SA 'A' side for the outgoing tour to America.
He took over the Lions captaincy in 2007 and was a player who led by example. Grobbelaar was one of the outstanding 'fetchers' in the country and undoubtedly came close to selection for the Springboks - a honour that would surely have come his way if he had been part of a stronger outfit in his best years when the Lions were struggling (especially in the Super Rugby competitions).
A serious injury put paid to Grobbelaar's career in 2010 when he was out of action for more than eight months - but he was part of the resurgence of the Golden Lions when they won the Currie Cup in 2011, being on the field as a replacement when the final hooter went after the 42-16 walloping of the Sharks in the final.
Comments
Bones7 says...
Now there's a player who definitely deserved a cap. I think the other problem was being a fetcher during the Jake White era, where anyone could play 6 for South Africa providing they weren't too much smaller than the locks
Posted 23:21 16th October 2012