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Ex-Springbok revisits Kamp Staaldraad nightmare: 'It was crazy... the soldiers even fired two bullets on the ground'

(Photo by Jonathon Wood/Getty Images)

Springbok rugby was restored to the pedestal of being the best in the world last November with South Africa’s World Cup final win over England in Yokohama. The world reacted graciously, hailing a triumph where the Boks were inspirationally skippered by Siya Kolisi, their racially uniting captain.

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The victory crowned them as world champions for the third time in seven tournaments, but the memory of preparing for one of their more disastrous campaigns has never left one ex-Springbok who now lives in the wilds of Costa Rica. 

Now 39 years old, Joe van Niekerk earned the last of his 52 South African caps in 2010 before finishing his club career at Toulon in 2014. He has since embraced a new-age lifestyle in the Costa Rican jungle, buying a piece of land to make it into a huge organic farm. 

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Mako Vunipola takes on Jack Nowell in an all-England quarter-final in the RugbyPass FIFA charity tournament

Surviving off the land, though, provided a very different experience 17 years ago when the Springboks’ preparations for the 2003 World Cup in Australia descended into farce at a military-style boot camp that went horribly wrong, causing friction among a squad that went on to lose in the quarter-finals to New Zealand. 

Asked by Midi Olympique, the bi-weekly French rugby publication, if he had ever been afraid in rugby, van Niekerk opened up about his memories of the infamous Kamp Staaldraad that was supposed to be a team bonding exercise with an emphasis on fitness. 

“The federation (SA Rugby) had seen fit to group us in a military camp located near the border of Botswana. I can see some virtues in this kind of commando internship. It’s a management method like any other, after all. But here it went too far. They wanted to break us, humiliate us, scare us. I even lost four pounds in three days.

“Kamp Staaldraad, it was crazy when I think about it. We called the soldiers ‘sir’, they answered us using our service number. We had to climb nude through tunnels dug by foxes as they poured frozen water over our heads. 

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“As long as we were climbing, we were waiting for recordings of God Save The Queen and the Haka. It was crazy, I tell you. We also spent one night in the desert. We were all starved, so the soldiers carried boxes inside of which there were live chickens.

“I grew up in Johannesburg. I’m a little town guy. I had never killed chicken. Especially since the soldiers refused to give us a knife. So we had to kill the beasts with our own hands. I even believe that a player tore out a vein from the animal with his teeth. What a nightmare. 

“If I had been a team executive at the time, I would have refused to put my team-mates at risk in this kind of exercise… one morning, when we had to stay in the very cold water of a lake, some players tried to get back to the shore. The soldiers then threatened them with their gun, even firing two bullets on the ground.

“Another afternoon, at 35 degrees, the soldiers gathered us in full sun. Derrick Hougaard raised his hand and asked, ‘Sir, may I ask you a question?’ The soldier replied: ‘Yes, number 42!’ 

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“And Derrick to continue: ‘You wouldn’t have sunscreen?’ We all exploded with laughter and the soldiers were mad with anger. So we queued up to do push-ups while the soldiers came and went on the bridge formed by our backs.”

In the aftermath of the infamous camp, the Springboks were hit by allegations of racism following claims that Geo Cronje refused to share his room with Quinton Davids. “It was horribly disappointing,” continued van Niekerk.

“In 1995, the Springboks’ World Cup victory brought the country into the era of the Rainbow Nation. I was 15 at the time but who could have forgotten the image of Nelson Mandela wearing the No6 by François Pienaar? Who could have forgotten the streets of our cities flooded with people of all colours after the final whistle? 

“After the euphoria of the title, everything fell apart a little in South Africa and this year, 2003, there was bad energy within the group, a real separation between the black and white of the team. I found it inhuman. My mother didn’t raise me that way.”

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M
Mzilikazi 53 minutes ago
'Ulster, though no one wants to admit it, isn't much more than a development province right now.'

“I was wondering if the AIL had clubs that were on the tipping point of wanting to become pro, how close could they get to a current Ulster etc”.


The Irish structure has always been the International team at the top, then the four provinces, then the clubs below that. Before the pro era in each province there were senior clubs playing each other, and that was pretty much “ring fenced”…no relegation or promotion. Then below that a series of junior leagues. The top players in the international scene played in the Five Nations(before Italy came in), and against the touring All Blacks or Springboks initially, then later Australia and Argentina came in. Actually I would need to go back and check the history of the teams coming onto the scene ie other than the Ab’s and Boks.


Those International players would only play for their province three times each year in the Inter Pro games, with the Bok, AB etc games only in tour years. Rest of the time, every single Int. player played club rugby every weekend.


Pro era dawned, and the four provinces became the sole pro teams, feeding up to the Int. team. There is no prospect as far as I can see of any AIL team ever becoming professional. Deepete, or someone living in Ireland would know more than I do, but what happens is fringe and academy players can play in the AIL, giving them game time they would not get otherwise. Top International players would rarely play at AIL level.


I think in Australia the tyranny of distance inhibits an AIL type structure. Ireland is tiny, good rail and road sytems, and it is easy to play in Cork, Limerick, Dublin, any where, weekend after weekend. Imagine an All Australian league, and travelling from Townsville for a game in Margaret River, etc. etc.


“I actually had the tables up and had no idea who was who lol”. Neither do I in some cases. A lot of new clubs since I played/lived in Ireland…I have to check who some are !!


Good discussion here JW. Have enjoyed it.

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Months earlier, I’d sunk $156,000 into what I thought was a golden opportunity, an online cryptocurrency investment promising sky-high returns. The website was sleek, the testimonials glowing, and the numbers kept climbing. But when I tried to withdraw my profits, the platform froze. Emails went unanswered, support chats died, and my “investment” vanished into the digital ether. I’d been scammed, and the sting of it burned deep.Desperate, I stumbled across Alpha Spy Nest while scouring the web for help. Their site/reviews didn’t promise miracles, just results, specialists in tracking down lost funds from online scams. Skeptical but out of options, I reached out. The process started with a simple form: I detailed the scam, uploaded screenshots of transactions, and shared the wallet addresses I’d sent my crypto to. Within hours, they confirmed they’d take my case.What followed was like watching a high-stakes chess game unfold, though I only saw the moves, not the players. Alpha Spy Nest dove into the blockchain, tracing my funds through a maze of wallets designed to obscure their path. They explained how scammers often use mixers to launder crypto, but certain patterns like timing and wallet clustering, could still betray them. I didn’t understand half of it, but their confidence kept me hopeful. Hours later, they updated me: my money had landed in an exchange account tied to the scam network. They’d identified it through a mix of on-chain analysis and intel from sources I’d never grasp. After 24 hours, i got a message, my funds were frozen in the scammer’s account pending review. Alpha Spy Nest had apparently flagged it just in time.  After some back-and-forth, the exchange with the help of Alpha Spy Nest reversed the transactions, and $145,000 of my original $156,000 hit my wallet. The rest, they said, was likely gone forever, siphoned off early. I never met anyone from Alpha Spy Nest, never heard a voice or saw a face. Yet, their methodical precision pulled me back from the brink. My money wasn’t fully restored, but the recovery felt like a win, a lifeline from a faceless ally in a world of digital shadows. If you find yourself in the same situation, you can also reach out to them via: Email: Alphaspynest@mail.com, whatsapp: ‪+15132924878‬, telegram: https://t.me/Alphaspynest,

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Rebeccakirby 1 hour ago
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Months earlier, I’d sunk $156,000 into what I thought was a golden opportunity, an online cryptocurrency investment promising sky-high returns. The website was sleek, the testimonials glowing, and the numbers kept climbing. But when I tried to withdraw my profits, the platform froze. Emails went unanswered, support chats died, and my “investment” vanished into the digital ether. I’d been scammed, and the sting of it burned deep.Desperate, I stumbled across Alpha Spy Nest while scouring the web for help. Their site/reviews didn’t promise miracles, just results, specialists in tracking down lost funds from online scams. Skeptical but out of options, I reached out. The process started with a simple form: I detailed the scam, uploaded screenshots of transactions, and shared the wallet addresses I’d sent my crypto to. Within hours, they confirmed they’d take my case.What followed was like watching a high-stakes chess game unfold, though I only saw the moves, not the players. Alpha Spy Nest dove into the blockchain, tracing my funds through a maze of wallets designed to obscure their path. They explained how scammers often use mixers to launder crypto, but certain patterns like timing and wallet clustering, could still betray them. I didn’t understand half of it, but their confidence kept me hopeful. Hours later, they updated me: my money had landed in an exchange account tied to the scam network. They’d identified it through a mix of on-chain analysis and intel from sources I’d never grasp. After 24 hours, i got a message, my funds were frozen in the scammer’s account pending review. Alpha Spy Nest had apparently flagged it just in time.  After some back-and-forth, the exchange with the help of Alpha Spy Nest reversed the transactions, and $145,000 of my original $156,000 hit my wallet. The rest, they said, was likely gone forever, siphoned off early. I never met anyone from Alpha Spy Nest, never heard a voice or saw a face. Yet, their methodical precision pulled me back from the brink. My money wasn’t fully restored, but the recovery felt like a win, a lifeline from a faceless ally in a world of digital shadows. If you find yourself in the same situation, you can also reach out to them via: Email: Alphaspynest@mail.com, whatsapp: ‪+15132924878‬, telegram: https://t.me/Alphaspynest,

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Months earlier, I’d sunk $156,000 into what I thought was a golden opportunity, an online cryptocurrency investment promising sky-high returns. The website was sleek, the testimonials glowing, and the numbers kept climbing. But when I tried to withdraw my profits, the platform froze. Emails went unanswered, support chats died, and my “investment” vanished into the digital ether. I’d been scammed, and the sting of it burned deep.Desperate, I stumbled across Alpha Spy Nest while scouring the web for help. Their site/reviews didn’t promise miracles, just results, specialists in tracking down lost funds from online scams. Skeptical but out of options, I reached out. The process started with a simple form: I detailed the scam, uploaded screenshots of transactions, and shared the wallet addresses I’d sent my crypto to. Within hours, they confirmed they’d take my case.What followed was like watching a high-stakes chess game unfold, though I only saw the moves, not the players. Alpha Spy Nest dove into the blockchain, tracing my funds through a maze of wallets designed to obscure their path. They explained how scammers often use mixers to launder crypto, but certain patterns like timing and wallet clustering, could still betray them. I didn’t understand half of it, but their confidence kept me hopeful. Hours later, they updated me: my money had landed in an exchange account tied to the scam network. They’d identified it through a mix of on-chain analysis and intel from sources I’d never grasp. After 24 hours, i got a message, my funds were frozen in the scammer’s account pending review. Alpha Spy Nest had apparently flagged it just in time.  After some back-and-forth, the exchange with the help of Alpha Spy Nest reversed the transactions, and $145,000 of my original $156,000 hit my wallet. The rest, they said, was likely gone forever, siphoned off early. I never met anyone from Alpha Spy Nest, never heard a voice or saw a face. Yet, their methodical precision pulled me back from the brink. My money wasn’t fully restored, but the recovery felt like a win, a lifeline from a faceless ally in a world of digital shadows. If you find yourself in the same situation, you can also reach out to them via: Email: Alphaspynest@mail.com, whatsapp: ‪+15132924878‬, telegram: https://t.me/Alphaspynest,

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Months earlier, I’d sunk $156,000 into what I thought was a golden opportunity, an online cryptocurrency investment promising sky-high returns. The website was sleek, the testimonials glowing, and the numbers kept climbing. But when I tried to withdraw my profits, the platform froze. Emails went unanswered, support chats died, and my “investment” vanished into the digital ether. I’d been scammed, and the sting of it burned deep.Desperate, I stumbled across Alpha Spy Nest while scouring the web for help. Their site/reviews didn’t promise miracles, just results, specialists in tracking down lost funds from online scams. Skeptical but out of options, I reached out. The process started with a simple form: I detailed the scam, uploaded screenshots of transactions, and shared the wallet addresses I’d sent my crypto to. Within hours, they confirmed they’d take my case.What followed was like watching a high-stakes chess game unfold, though I only saw the moves, not the players. Alpha Spy Nest dove into the blockchain, tracing my funds through a maze of wallets designed to obscure their path. They explained how scammers often use mixers to launder crypto, but certain patterns like timing and wallet clustering, could still betray them. I didn’t understand half of it, but their confidence kept me hopeful. Hours later, they updated me: my money had landed in an exchange account tied to the scam network. They’d identified it through a mix of on-chain analysis and intel from sources I’d never grasp. After 24 hours, i got a message, my funds were frozen in the scammer’s account pending review. Alpha Spy Nest had apparently flagged it just in time.  After some back-and-forth, the exchange with the help of Alpha Spy Nest reversed the transactions, and $145,000 of my original $156,000 hit my wallet. The rest, they said, was likely gone forever, siphoned off early. I never met anyone from Alpha Spy Nest, never heard a voice or saw a face. Yet, their methodical precision pulled me back from the brink. My money wasn’t fully restored, but the recovery felt like a win, a lifeline from a faceless ally in a world of digital shadows. If you find yourself in the same situation, you can also reach out to them via: Email: Alphaspynest@mail.com, whatsapp: ‪+15132924878‬, telegram: https://t.me/Alphaspynest,

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