Ruben Kruger: We bid farewell to the Silent Assassin

31 January 2010 - 01:30 By Peter Martin
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Cancer claimed a second member of the victorious 1995 World Cup Springbok squad after Ruben Kruger died in Pretoria last week after a long battle with brain cancer. Kruger was 39.

The coach, Kitch Christie, died of leukemia in April 1998.

Ruben Jacobus Kruger was born in Vrede in the Free State on March 30 1970 and educated at Grey College, which has produced more Springboks than any other school. He represented the Boks in 36 Tests, scoring seven tries.

At 1.89m and 102kg, he was a powerfully built flank forward, always in the thick of things and able to link successfully with his forwards and backs.

With the World Cup imminent, there were a number of newcomers for the tough tour of Australia in mid-1993. These included Kruger, who at the time was playing for Free State, and he made his debut against a South Australia XV in Adelaide on July 17 1993, scoring two tries in a monster Springbok win (90-3). But he was unable to dislodge the Test flank pair of Francois Pienaar and Deon Lotter, and was not even chosen to sit on the bench.

Other debutants in the green- and-gold that year were Chester Williams, Henry Honiball, Tinus Linee, Joel Stransky, Joost van der Westhuizen, John Allan and Balie Swart. Most of them would go on to became invaluable to the 1995 World Cup squad.

The Boks visited Argentina later that year, boosted by a young Mark Andrews, who had been selected as a flank but who later became a world-class lock and played No8 in some World Cup games.

Kruger made his Test debut in Buenos Aires and played in both Tests there, which were won comfortably by the Boks.

The next year, now playing for the Blue Bulls, he was in the Bok touring team that played Scotland and Wales. He was on the winning side in his first 14 Tests, tasting defeat only in his 15th against Australia in 1996 during the inaugural Tri-Nations.

He was one of the heroes of the World Cup, scoring a try in the rainy semifinal against France, which South Africa won 19-15, and in the first half of the final against New Zealand he had a try disallowed by referee Ed Morrison, who ruled that the ball had been held up. It was a proud moment for Kruger when skipper Francois Pienaar held the William Webb trophy aloft at the end of the match.

He was nicknamed the "Silent Assassin" by Christie during the 1995 Rugby World Cup and at the end of the season, Kruger was named the South African Player of the Year.

He was a regular member of the Bok squad for the next couple of years despite breaking a leg in the 1996 Tri-Nations series, but he missed the 1998 Tri-Nations. That year, he was a member of the Blue Bulls team that won the Currie Cup.

He forced his way back into the Bok team as a member of the 1999 World Cup squad, but Rassie Erasmus and Andre Venter were the preferred flanks.

He appeared in only two Cup matches that year - against Spain and in his last Test, against the All Blacks in Cardiff, the third-place play-off, he came on as a substitute at No8 for Andre Vos.

At the end of his rugby career, he opened a camera franchise business in Pretoria.

His playing days came to an end in 2000 when he was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Many operations followed, one as late as last year. He even visited the controversial Nigerian faith healer TB Joshua in an attempt to cure his illness.

Early last year he underwent a five-hour operation after the tumour returned.

In June last year, after watching a Test against the visiting Lions team, he was in an accident with his family when he lost consciousness while driving. His car collided with several other vehicles before landing in a ditch. Kruger was taken to hospital and fortunately no other members of his family were hurt in the incident.

In Clint Eastwood's recent movie about the 1995 World Cup,Invictus, he was portrayed by Grant Roberts, a Canadian-born body builder.

Tributes from former teammates and numerous fans have shown what a respected player he was.

"Ruben Kruger was the epitome of the Springbok flanker; tough, indomitable and with an outstanding work ethic," said Oregan Hoskins, president of the South African Rugby Union. "When Ruben was on the field you always knew the Springboks would not be beaten without a tremendous battle.

"Our prayers have been with him through his battle against illness and it is very sad to hear of his early passing," Hoskins added. "Our thoughts are with his family and we extend to them our condolences."

Kruger leaves behind his wife Lize, sister of tennis coach Frans Cronje, and two daughters, Zoë and Isabella.

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