Pierre Spies - The Ultimate Athlete 

Wasn't like Jerry Collins on defense? With him at 8, you were playing a man down on defense. Poor work rate, poor defense, poor hands. Nobody would deny that he was a monster in open play, but as a number 8, quite mediocre. It's not hate pointing out major flaws in his play.

@@braeddie stfu ..are you even watching this video idiot..spies was a beast

@@brotherhood6391 tell him

@@braeddie you are talking kak

Steroids

So did the Saffa’s....

Bud, he was an absolute freak of nature. Ebens power, with Habanas pace.

@@MetYsJa But had no workrate at the ruck

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Martin Coetzee I agree 100% with you Martin. People tend to remember the things he did wrong. He was VERY good for the Boks between 2006 and 2009, solid in 2010 and 2011 and only really struggled between 2012 and 2014, oddly enough under Heyneke Meyer

In my opinion Heyneke Meyer ended up being a very fearful Bok coach. I think he was out of the game for a while after a personal tragedy and when he came back he wasn't really the same coach anymore. The first time something went wrong for him he tried to bring most of his old Bulls side out of retirement. Instead of building for the future he went right into the past. Anyway he was still a good coach but the Boks weren't as good under him as I thought they would be. It just shows what a tragedy it was when SARU gave the Bok job to a completely unqualified Pieter De Villiers and then Heyneke got the job later when he was no longer in his prime. I live in New Zealand and it's hard to watch your own rugby union continuously undermining your players and coaches and then in New Zealand you see how the rugby union do everything in their power to make their players the best in the world. Hopefully things will change, the Bok squad this year is much better and they are looking good. I don't think they have enough firepower to beat the All Blacks yet but if they can grow without being undermined for a few seasons they could do very well in the next World Cup.

Martin Coetzee I agree 100%, Heyneke should have succeeded Jake White in 2008 when those Bulls players were at their best. Most coaches pick players they know and back. Jake did it with John Smit for instance and Peter De Villiers had a thing for Adi Jacobs for a while. Heyneke liked Victor etc. Anyway - I think the issue in South Africa is politics in sport, not necessarilly the quota system, there is a difference between the two. Our game is run by amateurs and if we are gutsy enough to follow the European clubs' model, we'll be competitive again

Martin Coetzee your prediction for the “next World Cup” was spot on

its called steroids

Started as a winger. Should have stayed there.

Started as 3rd string wingers, got injured and got on the gear and came back as springbok number 8. 😂

Would’ve liked to see him and Savea in a Race

@@ttoleafoa70 100m race: Croft vs Spies vs A. Savea vs Macalou vs Tipuric. Now that's something I'd pay to see! I reckon Macalou wins it, but Spies is the most powerful and formidable overall athlete, in my opinion.

@@osunaarashisthirdroundcard8362 Macalou is fast but I think Savea’a got him in an all out sprint. He’s done some freakish things like chasing down wingers and outpacing them when he puts the hammer down. Close though in my opinion. Spies was just formidable on the carrying front. Did fuck all on defense, could’ve done more but he was so lazy. Macalou overall I reckon is more formidable. Dominant tackler and great carrier.

@@ttoleafoa70 Yeah, agreed on the Spies defence/work-ethic point. I think I just meant powerful and formidable in more of a pure genetics/gym stats kind of way. Regarding a sprint-race between Savea and Macalou, I think it depends on the distance. I reckon Savea has better acceleration, but Macalou looks like he has better top speed and maintenance, based on their respective body-types. Savea seems to be shorter, more compact with disproportionately shorter, thicker legs (much better for acceleration), whereas Macalou is taller, less compact with disproportionately longer, thinner legs (much better for top speed and maintenance). So if it's 40m, I'd bet on Savea; if it's 70m, I'd say it's a coin flip; if it's 100m, I'm putting my money on Macalou. Body-type-wise, it's a bit like Usain Bolt (Macalou) versus Asafa Powell (Savea). Interesting stuff!

@@ttoleafoa70 By the way, I spoke with some French people I know a while ago, and they're weren't very enthused about Macalou, which I was initially surprised by. They said he often makes poor tactical decisions and loses his discipline, so is a bit of a penalty machine. Until then, I'd only seen highlights of Macalou (which wouldn't show those traits), but when I watched my first full match in which he played, I could see what those guys were referring to.

Agreed, I'm a Bulls fan and I think he should have played 100 tests and should have been one of the greatest ever. In hind sight, he probably wasn't a 8, open side could have suited him better

Def an open side. Not an 8 imo

@@RealRugby Number 6 give him the freedom of roaming with the grafting of a 7.

Real Rugby I play 6 myself and always believed 7 or 6 would have suited him far better, especially 6 for me though.

I agree. He was so good. But number 8 needed to be a Kieran Reed or duane vermeulen type player. I really wish he played like them, but was a bit of one trick pony and probably a bit too nice. Needed a bit of mongrel to go with his freak athleticism.

Jacques Farmer Most people forgot how good Spies was... ;-)

Me too!

Gevreet45 exact

Agree

Yeas. The real highlights make the video much more exciting!

I absolutely agree with you... We had the guys to attack in the tight exchanges, Spies should have been used to run at the centers and wings... But unfortunately his defense was very average for most of the time. However, he is still one of my personal favorites.

Meeean Azz Burger has always played at openside. Spies is definitely more of a 7.

MrBreakdownBoy injuries and wrong training program, and after that bug of playing loosy bites you never want to play another position

Rugby Montage Reviewer Thanks for the comment, I'm glad you enjoy this channel :-)

Ruan Pieterse things are beginning to look better, but yeah theres alot of work between where they are no and to be the team they were 10-11 years ago... That was a team who knew hard work and Victory well

@@somerandomguy5600 nee boet Pollard is weg RG is weg Jesse weg Lood weg

Use to be a winger should’ve stayed on the wing too

he got robbed of potential greatness by HM, could've been a Savea type wing

Even as a centre he could have been devastating. He doesn't have the "mongrel" mindset of a loosie. I still adore him him though, when I left school he was a massive inspiration to me.

he had a back's mindset, incredible athlete too

Never thought about it but i think that SA coaches never used him to his full potential even as a 8.

0:35 he started as a wing for the Bulls

Great comment Marius. He made his name playing at flank in 2006 and I also believe he was better suited to open side

True no7 would have suited him better.

noxizle 4 shizle agree with you 100%

Real Rugby shot buddy

Real Rugby thanks for uploading great videos too, highly appreciated. Please keep up the good work.

Not true Noxile. He played under 20 on the wing for the Bulls. Well known fact. But then he got moved to no.8 because he got to big and not enough flat out speed for a winger. Man was a rugby BEAST!

noxizle 4 shizle moron he did set the world alite do u watch rugby

Him and Victor Matfield.

marqstheman He might not have been like Jerry Collins, but he wasn't a ghost on defence. Can't blame him though, his whole life he was a wing and then on professional level he was a loosy. Both require different types of defensive game plays.

He always made the tackles required of him. Didn't smash people on defense but still tackled them. His only real weakness was the fact he didn't do enough of the donkey work at ruck time

And couldn't tackle even if his life depended on it.

Built like Tarzan, played like Jane.

RLuke103 Bruh, Cory Jane was a great player...

Superb player, easy to comment when you’ve won both

Totally agree...

Yes - was a 6 really.

He was a winger in the first clip of this video!

He started his career as a wing.

Crikey! For a bloke - he could shift! It's good to see a forward who can mix his pace amongst the backs.

chr1spy Beef Agreed. I will be the first to admit his form has been inconsistent, but he is flourishing in Europe. I think he was coached into a rigid structure which was past its sell by date by 2011...

Real Rugby I agree 100%. I feel like he didn't reach his full potential here.

Ecky Thimble Maybe not of all time, but he was up there. For the Boks it would have been between him and Skinstad

Lol. That would be Zinzan Brooke

Pieter Keyser We was robbed in 2011

lm bester the reason why SA rugby keeps going backwards cause of you politicians wanna be, PIERE WAS A GIFT AND STILL IS FOR SA RUGBY

It was Jaque Fourie who smashed O'Gara

@@EllliotJackRussel1 just before his try 100% but a few minutes before the try Spies went smashing into O'Gara and I think opened up a cut on his head which he had to get bandaged. I think it was part of the reason he was hanging about on the wing trying to stay out of the way of things. He must have been very unhappy to see Jaques coming towards him. And that I can watch all day as well.

had

Daniel Pienaar and now we have

For 8 i Will always pick Vermeulen above spies hé just has more grid. But i think in genaral Spies should have bin in the back line. I think nr13 center would have be the best

PartiZAn18 if he lived up to his potential he would definitely have been in contention for player of the Century.

Hé used to be a wing himself

He played over 50 tests for South Africa, so its strange that you never heard of him? In the last couple of years of his career he struggled with injury. He eventually went to France to play for Montepellier and recently from rugby altogether to become a minister of the church in Pretoria

Busta Rogers he had a medical problem that took him out of rugby and when he came back he wasnt the same.then he went over see to france or eng not sure

TransurLifeawai you forgot to mention how big a pussy he was and a poser. Imo.

So glad you left then!

We just put in clips of where he scored tries. So if he was useless in the Lions series based on that, other players who were useless were Fourie Du Preez, Francois Steyn, Jean De Villiers, Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha

I thought the same after watching the whole reel that this was only moments when he scored tries. The only memory I have of this great man was when he steamrolled an upcoming All Black Legend by the name of LIAM MESSAM. I may say having no Music soundtrack was a great Idea. Some Live commentary really brings back the emotion and situations when maybe that try mattered that most.

xpat73 u are prob a kiwi supporter rite

Pieter is much better

Mike Copeland lol hahahahahaha keeran reid is way out of sorts for the last year or sou.just becos his namr is keeran reid and he plays for nz means he is the best just look at what hapend to ur kiwi team last year got rocked by the boks and ireland and wil get rocked again this year by wales also kiwi rugby is on a down hill just look at the super rugby log.days of kiwi players being more dominant is long time gone