Priceless when English fans take the moral high ground on a player like Bakkies all the while celebrating Martin Johnson, the dirtiest captain in rugby history. Hipocrisy so thick you could cut it with a chainsaw.
Some brilliant stories. The enforcer Bakkies is the stuff of legend. But this video illustrates his pace and rugby IQ. He was so underrated as a rugby player.
Great player but his thug behaviour wouldn’t be tolerated in rugby today. If he was that tough why didn’t he take up boxing? Because a professional fighter would of eaten him alive. Lots of cheap shots and off the ball incidents. He would get a red card every game.
Dirty player in a time when most forwards in ANY international team had dirty players. He's just got videos and stories behind it, where others don't so it gives a skewed impression it's only him.
I do think he does that because it works for his benefits on the field, intimidating not knowing what behavior to expect from your opponent, can keep you mentally on edge when your near them, it’s a survival instinct.
@JoBloggs3rd-os6se that they are both now retired peaceful warriors, former opponents getting under each others skins then became team mates playing together for Toulon. Bakkies is now a butcher in South Africa with his own butchers business aptly called "Bakkies The Butcher" and Sheridan is involved in the wine industry, living in France and butchering grapes for a living. Bakkies sends Sheridan steaks for his birthday and Christmas and Sheridan sends Bakkies bottles of slaughtered grapes. Are you happy now ?
The problems come from the real headbangers who are prepared to boot you where it hurts most or even in the head. When you’re at the bottom of a ruck you can really catch a cold, metaphorically speaking.
Also the discovery of concussions aren't minor injuries and they cause personality changes and early death. Would you want to lose your father to Alzheimer's at 40 and substance abuse/suicide at 50 just because he played rugby? That's far more important than "the new rules that are stifling the current game."
It's not war you mug. It's a highly physical sport with rules and restrictions. Aggression is needed but there are limits to how far it can be taken. War is a nightmare where the survival of people is at stake and where brutality has no limits. People like Botha are fantastic if they can be restrained and drilled into disciplined players. Unhinged and sadistic agression is awful and terrible for the sport.
@marcdaniels9079 if you tackled someone in civilian life according to the rules of rugby, you would be put in jail. I have listened to enough rugby podcasts to know there are no top tier teams that have not committed dirty play. Don't throw stones
Hard man for sure, but kind of a bully. That shit wouldn't have worked on the likes of Jerry Collins, and Buck Shelford would have eaten him for dinner. They were at least as hard as this guy, but didn't have to go around headbutting halfbacks to prove it.
to be honest, I do get put off by some of the ott machismo of the south africans- blowin the kiss attitude was probably a bit reflective of that. dirty at times
If some of the things he did happened to you in the street, then you would probably run to report it to the Police and rightly so. What he does on the pitch is no more legal there than it is on the street.
@@johnlewis9745 I don't think anyone he ever played against went running to the police and I'm pretty sure he never assaulted anyone in the street. So all in all, I'm happy with my comment.
@@DH1985-MB Thuggery is thuggery wherever it occurs. Your phrase, ‘Went running to the police’ suggests you would consider such a player to be a coward. I wouldn’t agree. You will be aware that people who deliberately caused injury, during a game, have been prosecuted in a Criminal Court and convicted. Undoubtedly, it will not be the last time.
@@johnlewis9745 hahaha - don't suggest anything mate. If I say the word coward then by all means slay me for it. But until then, don't. Bakkies was a top-top player and athlete who won multiple trophies for club and country. End of.
This is sad honestly. Glorifying thuggish cheap shots and dirty playing is what this is, often leading to proper unnecessary long term damage. Those actions have no place on a rugby field.
Botha’s a thug. There’s nothing to laugh at when a, ‘Sportsman’ tries to injure an opponent. Today he’d be red carded every match for what he did. Why did SARFU allow such conduct to continue ? Is winning by any means part of the South African game ?
You're absolutely right. Botha was no doubt a tough rugby player and an asset to SA over the years, but he was without doubt just a thug. He went out with intention of hurting and trying to just intimidate opposition players. He wasn't an 'enforcer' at all, he was just a thug who played rugby as an excuse to be the scumbag he really was. To this day, I will never believe that the incident which ruled Adam Jones out of the Lions series in 09 was just a 'rugby incident'. He targeted him and wanted to injure him because Jones was demolishing the SA scrum that game. They couldn't beat him fairly, so took him out with a cheap shot. Thug tactics.
@@EFEWithEugene😂😂😂 oh shut up. There's a clear difference between being a physical player who plays hard but within the rules, and then someone who is a blatant thug and rugby us his excuse to act like it.
World heavy weight campion from South Africa once said rugby was to rough for him. Heavy weight boxers are to small, they wil have to play in the back line. Jona Lomo was 1.96 meter and 118 kg and he played wing.
In the UFC Jon Jones is the undisputed GOAT. He has beaten the best of the best for 10/15 years without loss. His older brother however is a NFL line backer and Jon admits he needs help to have a chance against him. Size is everything..
Great player but what he did to luke Fitzgerald on the lions was psychopathic shit he genuinely couldve blinded a 20 year old kid edit: never mind it wasn't bakkies 🤣🤣
Ban a player for a season for a seriously violent act and let him earn his money elsewhere. Do it once to someone and most will desist, do it twice and they all will. If it doesn’t ban them for life.
He wasn't a bully. That was just rugby back then . Just did his job. If you're scared of bullies, this is the wrong sport to watch. Off the field he was very respectful. He just had a sense of humour about the 'enforcer' tag. From what I've read he just loves his family, lives a wholesome life. You need to maybe watch other videos where he shows so much respect to his opponents. One of my favourite players ever as he never left anything out there.
@@seanschoeman247 It most certainly wasn’t ‘just rugby back then’. Botha was a thug through and through and had numerous suspensions to prove it. He was a gutless coward.
@DECA94 What happened to rugby being a thug's game played by gentlemen? That assault of Jimmy Cowan was not the action of a gentleman. Don't tar other players with his brush.
If you are able read you will know of the serious brain injuries that have come to light in recent years. Yet you consider rugby to be a soft touch ? Have you ever played the game on the field or did you play from the safety of the stand ?
Though I'm a *Kiwi* 🇳🇿 like *Etzebeth* 🇿🇦 i loved *Bakkis* 🇿🇦 but if it came down to a throw down between him n a *Pacifica* 🇹🇴 🇼🇸 of the same weight, my money's on the Pacifica 😂😂
SA can stand up to the Pacifica juggernauts quite well. Some games I recall no one took backwards steps and bones got broken on both sides. When it comes to throw downs, say Eben vs Mark Hunt or Tua, its good night Eben. HOWEVER, there is Dricus vs Izzy at some point so we settle that beef there.
