Former Springbok and Blue Bull scrumhalf Piet Uys passed away yesterday morning after a long illness.
Uys, who turned 72 on Thursday, was a legend in Northern Transvaal and Blue Bulls rugby circles, having played 12 tests and 17 tour matches for the Springboks as a scrumhalf in his career.
The scrumhalf, who was uncharacteristically big for the position at the time, played in a golden era of Blue Bulls rugby under coach Buurman van Zyl from 1968 and captained the Bulls in their 1970 final against Griqualand West, which they lost.
Uys was part of a group of players that became the backbone of Springbok rugby at the time, including legendary figures like Thys Lourens, Frik du Preez and Mof Myburgh.
Uys made his debut for the Springboks against Wales in 1960 in Cardiff at the age of 22 and played until the age of 31 when he featured in the last of his six tests against Australia in Durban.
While he never scored a try for the Springboks in a test match, Uys was a darling of the north to such an extent that when Dawie de Villiers was picked ahead of him for a Springbok test, De Villiers was booed by the Loftus Versfeld crowd the next time he played at Loftus Versfeld.
After he stopped playing, Uys became a fighter for club rugby in the Northern Transvaal region and was chairman of the Blue Bulls Former Players Association. He later also chaired the Blue Bulls Rugby Co-ordinating committee during the era of Heyneke Meyer.
“If there was one way to describe Piet, it would be that he was a dedicated servant of the game,” Blue Bulls president Boet Fick told Supersport.com, “He was a determined fellow who always showed a keen interest in Northern Transvaal and the Blue Bulls and who was always happy to provide an input into the running of the game, especially at club rugby level.”
Piet Uys
Full names: Pieter de Waal
Date of birth: 10 Dec 1937
Place of birth: Paarl, South Africa
School: Maitland High School
Debut test province: Northern Transvaal
Physical: 1.73m, 79.4kg
Current age: 72
Test summary: Tests: 12 Tries: 0
First Test: 3 Dec 1960 Age:22 Scrumhalf against Wales at Millenium Stadium (Cardiff Arms Park), Cardiff
Last Test: 16 Aug 1969 Age:31 Scrumhalf against Australia at Kingspark, Durban
Oom Piet ja ek onthou jou, al was ek net 10 jaar oud. Daai verloor teen die Griekwas was lank in my geheue. Ook daardie tyd toe ons vir Heynecke wou braai.
Rus in Vrede.
Sterkte aan die familie.
Die Blou Bul Familie dink aan julle tydens die swaar tyd.
Sjoe my kinder helde val nou baie, soos GBS se die groot bome word gekap. Ons geslag se tyd kom nou vinnig aan.
Pietman sal Piet Uys baie goed ken. Wens jy was hier ou Pieta ons mis jou met al jou toer stories en kennis van die Ou Grotes van SARugby.
GBS Maximus glo ek het ook saam Piet Uys gespeel.
Frik, Mof en Piet het bekend sestaan as die driemanskap. Hulle was lede van die SA magte span wat die All Blacks in 1960 ‘n pakslae gegee het.
Eerstens wil ek my spyt uitspreek oor die dood van ‘n KALANDER (grote) in die rugby wêreld en ‘n groot gees in my geliefde Bulls geskiedenis.
Alle sterkte aan die familie & vriende!
Oom Piet, rus in vrede, jy was ‘n YSTER!
3@ SuperBul – Oom Piet was heelwat na die rugbytyd van GBS Maksimus… GBS Maksimus was so 8 jaar ouer as Oom Piet Uys.
Janee, die lang bome van die geslag wat ons voorgaan word nou erg gekap… en ons generasie is die volgende bome wat sal val.
Thys Lourens en my Pa was vrinne… eers in die Weermag en later was Thys ook in die Versekeringswêreld soos my Pa.
Thys Lourens was my kinder hero… hel ons het tot ‘n Pappegaai (African Grey) vernoem na Thys in 1975… en eers later uitgevind die pappegaai was eintlik ‘n wyfie pappegaai… maar toe hou ons maar die naam.
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