Keith Nicholls

Last week, Peter de Villiers let the nation know that John Smit would continue as Springbok captain. As decisions go, this was a no-brainer, Smit being a well-respected captain, a great player and the man who led the Boks to World Cup glory.

Good luck to Peter de Villiers; he’s certainly going to need it. According to reports, his election to South African rugby coaching’s top job was a close-run thing, with many on the presidents’ council in favour of Heyneke Meyer. So, even before De Villiers has set a foot on his new coaching path, there is […]

Don’t know about anyone else, but I’m actually looking forward to a bit of a break from all the rugby we’ve had this year. There’s been an absolute glut, and as South African supporters we couldn’t have asked for a better year: a World Cup win, two local teams fighting it out for the Super […]

The subject of Hansie Cronje has been back in the news recently after reports detailing the progress of a film based on his life. This has once again thrust debate over the fallen idol’s actions on and off the field under the spotlight.

So, now that an Aussie has helped us in our World Cup endeavours, it’s probably not bad form to agree with that Aussie when he says something worth listening to. In the aftermath of the World Cup, much has been said and written about the final as a spectacle, specifically portraying it as a drab, […]

It came on suddenly during the week in the build-up to the 1995 Rugby World Cup final. I had been laid low by flu the previous week, but had recovered enough to make the most of the semifinal against France. But the flu boomeranged back and left me in bed — at least the All […]

So there we were, chatting away at half-time of the Bok-Fiji clash on the weekend, somewhat secure in the knowledge that we would be progressing to the semifinal. A try just before the break had done nothing to dampen this enthusiasm. It was probably just a matter of time before we completely imposed ourselves on […]

For quite some time now, debate has ebbed and flowed over the value of Francois Steyn to the Bok cause and the position best suited to maximising this value. There is no question that he can add value — young, big, fast, precocious, he seems to have it all.

I’ve found it quite difficult to get too excited over cricket’s Twenty20 World Championship. This may be in no small measure to the Rugby World Cup taking place at the same time. My eggs are firmly in the rugby basket at this stage, but I am keeping an eye on developments on the cricket field.

The All Blacks are leaving no stone unturned in their preparations for the World Cup. According to media reports this week, the Kiwis have enlisted the assistance of an expert to help predict weather patterns for the tournament, which in turn may influence team selection. According to these reports, the expert produces his forecasts based […]

I owe a big thank you to South Africa’s cricket administrators. You see, they have set me straight. I had, for a long time, laboured under the misapprehension that the truth is a good thing. But apparently this is not so.