Henry Immelman from Grey College, in action against Affies.
A schoolboy teenager is set to play in the 2014 Currie Cup – Henry Immelman, the Grey College fullback.
Thomas du Toit, who was at Paarl Boys’ High last year, has proved that a teenager can stand firm among the tough, gnarled men of the front row.
Frans Steyn was 19 when he was chosen for the Sharks and then for South Africa. That was 2007, the year he turned 20. Johan Goosen was 18 when first he played for the Cheetahs in 2011, the year he turned 19.
Now Henry Immelman has been chosen in the Free State squad to play in the Currie Cup. He turned 19 in May. Unlike Steyn and Goosen he is still at school – in matric at Grey College, the school that Steyn and Goosen attended. Like the other two he played for Free State at Craven Week. Goosen made SA schools; Steyn and Immelman did not. Steyn and Goosen were born east of Bloemfontein – in Aliwal North and Burgersdorp. Immelman was born, on 26 May 1995, in Upington.
rugby365
He is an exciting player, running brilliantly from fullback or on the wing, and was contracted at the end of last year to play for Free State till the end of 2016.
He has missed some rugby this year after fracturing a cheekbone and tearing a lip against Affies in Pretoria in May. But on Saturday he played again – in Grey’s big win over Glenwood in Durban.
Rory Duncan, the Free State’s Currie Cup coach, announced last week his squad of 44 players, which includes eight Springboks and Immelman.
The Free State Currie Cup Squad:
Forwards: Rudolph Botha, Tienie Burger, Neil Claassen, Peet Coetzee, Jean Cook, Luan de Bruin, Lood de Jager, Jacques du Toit, Vincent Jobo, Lappies Labuschagne, Hercu Liebenberg, Oupa Mohoje, Freddie Ngoza, Trevor Nyakane, Caylib Oosthuizen, Coenie Oosthuizen, Boom Prinsloo, Bees Roux, Kevin Stevens, Adriaan Strauss, Francois Uys, Torsten van Jaarsveld, Henco Venter, Waltie Vermeulen, Carl Wegner.
Backs: Rayno Benjamin, Clayton Blommetjies, Renier Botha, AJ Coertzen, JP du Plessis, Willie du Plessis, Joubert Engelbrecht, Cornal Hendricks, Henry Immelman, Cameron Jacobs, Tertius Kruger, Nico Lee, Willie le Roux, Marco Mason, Sarel Pretorius, Raymond Rhule, Francois Venter, Shaun Venter, Elgar Watts.
In earlier times, when the game was less violent or these was just less concern, players were chosen on ability without regard to age, there were players younger than there are now.
Two Scottish schoolboys – Charles Reid and Ninian Finlay – were 17 years and 36 days old when they played for Scotland, Finlay in 1875, Reid in 1881. They were at Edinburgh Academy at the time. The youngest to play for South Africa was almost certainly a Bishops boy – Jack Hartley who may well have been 17 years and 18 days when he played for South Africa in 1891. In fact his tombstone gives his date of birth as 18 August 1876. If that were correct he would have been 15 years and 18 days old. In 1892 he played in the first Currie Cup tournament.
Only in ancient times? James O’Connor played for Australia at 18 in 2008, as did Tom Prydie of Wales in 2010.
die laaity is flippen goed hou hom dop….
I see Bees Roux is in the squad.
Stormersboy wrote:
Yes, Bees seems to be moving closer to hometown, Prieska. But he is also an Upington schoolboy player, went to Duineveld High Upington,
I think, played Griqua Cravens from there.
Hey Hondo, which PI’s going to score the winning try on Saturday?
😉
@ BrumbiesBoy:
Joubert is in ARU’s back pocket, no ways they can lose 😉
@ MacroBull:
But doesn’t he still have his sheep farm in NZ?
BrumbiesBoy wrote:
Lol I honestly do not know anymore, everyone claims Joubert is the most biased ref against their team, especially Stormers, Hondo will also throw in his two cents, atm his brain is probably having a coin toss between Home town ref and McCaw influence…
So does that make him the best ref?
@ BrumbiesBoy:
4
I am still thinking it over!
😆
@ MacroBull:
5
Yep, another handsome payday for the experienced match trader Joubert
But it will be more camouflage reffing, more subtle – not your Peyper/Jonker/Jaftha style – Joubert will keep the Tahs ahead regardless
I doubt the ARU are involved though, the Metropolitan of Sidney have the money to make it happened, 😆 😆
@ MacroBull:
Lol… Hondo used to call him Craig “His Masters Voice” Joubert. I assume the “master” is SARU so he might be fair on Saturday unless SARU has instructed him to penalize the Saders for humiliating the Sharks.
Worst ref ever from a Stormers perspective was Willie Roos…. by a mile.
@ MacroBull:
7
You probably never watched the 2011 RWC Final?
Or you haven’t registered that the Poms NEVER lost a Test at home under Joubert?
Luckily the brandy and coke brigade at kimberley ended Willie’s career before he could do even more damage.
@ Hondo:
lol shame on joubert for England having a relatively good home record.
@ robzim:
9
I did indeed called him just that 😉
But we have to distinguish between rugby matches that SARU’s interests are involved such as SR, CC
or TriNations Tests, Joubert is a SARU Employee after all
Elsewhere Joubert is on his own and renders his ‘services’ against ‘adequate compensations’, the man does it well I must say!
😆
@ MacroBull:
The 6Nations Test of the Poms Vs Wales in 2012 was the worst I’ve seen from Joubert who usually conceals pretty well the obvious
@ robzim:
Remember Roos awarded a try at Newlands when Hottie Louw played for the Bulls and dotted the ball down with his head! On the replay it looked like two balls behind the line and Willie seemed a bit perplexed by it all…
And I don’t think many people knew at the time that the Blue Bulls captain that day, Johan Wasserman, happened to be Willie’s b-i-l in real life…as a matter of fact, I doubt if many people can still recall that Wasserman was a Springbok flanker!
@ Pietman: We used to call him Willie Do*s.
I’m surprised you guys haven’t mentioned (the late?) Jimmy Smith-Belton; a late friend of mine was convinced that he had it in for WP from the first time that he touched a rugby ball!!!
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