Rugby Stories from the Platteland

Graham Jooste

• Publisher: 30 Degrees South Publishers
• eBook ISBN:
  9781928211006
• Year: 2005

The heart and spirit of rugby described in Graham's book is still evident today, but the way the game was played—on a Saturday afternoon, on a dusty field, after a long day ploughing—is not. Somehow all this became overshadowed by the glamour of large clubs and competitions, fuelled by modern technology and communication. In this book Graham tells the stories, some dating back 100 years, of those recently arrived for work in a strange town on the platteland who, to be accepted by the community, had to play rugby. From labourers and mechanics to clerks and farmers, these are their stories and each one is unique. From the Northern Cape and Luderitz, down the west coast, into the Eastern Cape and through the Free State and Mpumalanga, Graham has recorded stories, as told to him, that will have you in stitches. Graham's style of writing is reminiscent of campfire (or perhaps braais and boerewors) storytelling, the humour lying in all the deviations and asides the story makes along the way.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Also by
• Table of Contents
• INTRODUCTION
• AN IRISH CONNECTION
• THE FREE STATE TRIANGLE
• DIE MAN FROM KURUMAN
• GREEN AND RED SOCKS
• PIRATES OF THE TRANSKEI
• DIE BUFFEL VAN DEWETSDORP
• OPERATION OSTRICH
• JACK THE HOOTERS
• BOXING NOT ALLOWED
• KNOCKS-ON AND SIDESTEPS
• DIE KEURDERS
• MORE SIDESTEPS
• THE NICKNAME PHENOMENA
• OFFSIDES
• HAKA
• WAR STORIES
• STOPPING THE WAR TO PLAY RUGBY
• DESERT, RAIN, ICE OR SNOW… WE PLAY
• BACK TO WORK ON THE RAILWAYS
• NO NAMES NO PACK DRILL
• LIFE AFTER THE GAME
• DIE BEDONDERDE SPRINGBOK
• THE COMMENTATORS
• THE GREYLINGSTAD SAGA
• THE PENGUINS OF LÜDERITZBUCHT
• THE TROJANS OF TARKASTAD
• TARKASTAD AGAIN … SORRY, HEY!
• TROEPIE TROUBLE
• THE COMMUNISTS ARE COMING
• FAMOUS PROVINCIAL UNIONS AND OLDER CLUBS