THE KLAWERVLEI PICNIC : THE WHO'S WHO, AND MORE

Klawervlei Stud
(Photos : Klawervlei Stud)

J&B MET 2010

The Klawervlei picnic on Friday was a hell-of-an-affair, if there is such a thing these days beyond those of Tiger Woods and John Terry. It was simply out of this world, with scarcely a big deal in the game missing from the repertoire of guests. At our table alone, we were squeezed between one of the country’s foremost business leaders, Christo Wiese, and Mala Mala’s Mike Rattray, while across the table the conversation extended to Springbok rugby coaches, Andre Markgraaff and Jake White. For those who’ve lost their jobs during the current recession, there’s consolation in the commonality that exists between these two great rugby men, both highly successful in their sporting and business domains, yet both shown the door by the South African Rugby Union, one within months of returning with the World Cup!

That there’s life after death is very evident in both of them, and that in itself must be an encouragement to those who’ve found themselves in the cold in recent times.

Inevitably, a man like Tiaan Strauss was going to be drawn to our company, given that he was the jilted alternative to Francois Pienaar’s captaincy of the World Cup-winning Springboks of 1995. That said, the one thing we do remember about this boy from the Kalahari, is that he used to tackle wildebeest for fun during his adolescence, and he still looks in the sort of shape that could take down lions.