Springbok four share little-known facts on hobbies, fav meals and heroes

Boks, bucks and 'spag bol'

11 August 2022 - 16:08 By Sarah Buitendach
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Faf de Klerk, Vincent Koch, Malcolm Marx and Steven Kitshoff visited the Umganu Lodge in the run-up to the game in Mbombela. It’s amazing what little-known facts about these beloved national sportsmen came tumbling out during their luxury bush break.
Faf de Klerk, Vincent Koch, Malcolm Marx and Steven Kitshoff visited the Umganu Lodge in the run-up to the game in Mbombela. It’s amazing what little-known facts about these beloved national sportsmen came tumbling out during their luxury bush break.
Image: Supplied

The Springboks were adored, exalted even, after their convincing and elegant win over New Zealand in Mbombela last weekend, sparking many chats around the water cooler from joyous fans during the week.

But beyond those 80 minutes of unwavering skill and force, these warriors of the loose scrum are mortals too. Ones who love oxtail pots and holidays in Florence, Italy, it turns out.

“We’re not going to expose each other”, a laughing Malcolm Marx says to teammates Faf de Klerk, Vincent Koch and Steven Kitshoff over breakfast a few metres from the Sabie River and Kruger National Park beyond it.

They’re answering quick-fire questions being thrown around the table. Where one hesitates, there’s a cheeky quip or prompting from the remaining trio. It’s clear the four know each other incredibly well. And with partners at hand to spur them on too, it’s amazing what little-known facts about these beloved national sportsmen come tumbling out.

In the run-up to last weekend’s game, the couples were at Umganu Lodge, checking out the luxury escape co-owned by SA-born international cricket star Kevin Pietersen and newly listed start-up Altvest*. The lodge will soon be available for retail investment on the Cape Town Stock Exchange and the rugby quartet are here to give it a pre-offering once-over.

Ice-skating and wakeboarding are hobbies for two of our Boks.
Ice-skating and wakeboarding are hobbies for two of our Boks.
Image: Supplied

“It’s an unbelievable lodge. Probably the best I’ve seen”, says Kitshoff. “It’s so close to the animals and the Kruger itself.”

Between big five spotting and lounging by the pool, the guys are contemplating what fans might be surprised to know about them.

It’s Marx’s wife Kirsten who’s quick with the conversion on this. “Malcolm's a very good ice-skater — he has his own skates and everything,” she says.

“I’d go to the rink at Northgate every weekend,” confirms last week’s Man of the Match, and former King Edward VII School pupil, of his youth.

De Klerk counters that he used to be a decent gymnast. It’s patently a complete understatement from this all-rounder who also excelled at school cricket.

And then there’s Kitshoff. As his wife Aimee puts it, he “is an absolute whizz on water and a brilliant wakeboarder”.

They are three sportsmen who unsurprisingly are good at other sports. But tighthead prop Koch divulged he’s a professional Pokémon card collector — now there’s a thing. Rare cards sell for tens of millions of rand.

Had he not become a rugby player, Koch could have had a future on the card-collecting scene or, as he says, become a teacher. “That’s where I’d actually wanted to go when things didn’t work out when I was younger, where rugby was a bit tough, and I got injured.”

He’s honest about his less than certain career trajectory. “If you’d asked me 10 years ago if I'd become a Springbok I would have laughed because I wasn’t even in a professional set-up,” he says.

Championships and chops

But wherever he thought he’d end up, Koch is, like the other three men sitting on this deck in the late Lowveld winter sun, part of history and the winning 2019 Rugby World Cup team. So it’s inevitable that talk gravitates to that career-defining moment.

“It’s probably the hardest we ever worked as a team, for the biggest goal, so yes, an unbelievable achievement,” says Stormers forward Kitshoff.

De Klerk agrees and adds: “The trophy tour was also next level. I’d never experienced something like that before. Going back home and seeing what that win meant to people was just unbelievable.”

The four men are silent for a few seconds, clearly contemplating the enormity of that moment. Then Marx adds softly: “A kid ran next to the bus.”

“It’s true,” Koch continues, “a kid ran next to the bus for 5km, just being with us. That was massive — an eye-opener just to see how much people appreciated that win.”

They start to chat about their rugby icons. Kitshoff mentions Schalk Burger and Os du Randt, Marx mentions John Smit, but it’s De Klerk who has the table smiling with his answer. “For me it was probably Percy Montgomery growing up and Breyton Paulse.

“Percy was always blonde hair, flashy boots and kicked with his left foot, so I felt I could relate,” he explains.

And besides a resolute agreement that Florence is a top holiday destination, there’s one thing that none of these stars struggles to answer. They know exactly what final meal they’d choose, without a moment’s hesitation.

Percy Montgomery and Breyton Paulse were Faf de Klerk's rugby heroes when he was growing up.
Percy Montgomery and Breyton Paulse were Faf de Klerk's rugby heroes when he was growing up.
Image: Supplied

Marx asks if he could order two items — a bacon, avocado and feta pizza with extra mozzarella, and “spag bol [spaghetti bolognese]”.

For Kitshoff it’s “pork ribs, barbecue sauce and a lot of thick-cut chips”, and for Koch, an oxtail pot.

Completing the meaty ménage à quatre, De Klerk picks a Wagyu rib eye steak with lamb chops, braaibroodjie, potato salad. And a mealie.

— For more information on the Umganu Lodge offering, visit altvestcapital.co.za/umganu-lodge/

* Warren Wheatley is a director of Altvest and Arena Holdings, which owns TimesLIVE


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