The Alternative Rugby Column

Posted by Morné - 13/08/08 at 03:08 pm under Columnists

A tribute to a Springbok ‘legend?’.

The word ‘legend’ gets used quite often in South African rugby, and although every person has his own favourite, or hero, it is title used too often in my view.

But I can see why. You see a legend according to the dictionary is actually a noun, it is a ‘a nonhistorical or unverifiable story handed down by tradition from earlier times and popularly accepted as historical’. So in actual fact anything or anyone, depending on the storyteller, can become ‘legendary’ because of the story that is told about them.

The thing with Percival Colin Montgomery however, is that his story, his legend, is not historical at all, it is also not told by someone else – Percy’s legend is currently in his closing chapter and it is a story that he is telling himself, as I write this.

Percy Montgomery will run out for his 100th test cap this Saturday, against the Springbok’s traditional arch-rivals, the All Blacks, on the ground where he first made a name for himself, Newlands in Cape Town.

Wow, talk about coming a full circle!

I therefore feel the word ‘legend’ does not describe Percy Montgomery as a person, or more specifically a Springbok player.

Percy Montgomery was born in Walvis Bay, Namibia in 1974. He was schooled in one of Cape Town’s most prestigious schools (SACS) where his talent was identified early as a very gifted, but also erratic player.

He made his provincial debut for Western Province in 1996 and his Springbok debut one year later in 1997 against the British Lions.

By 2001, Percy Montgomery amassed 50 Springbok caps already and has also played in a World Cup in 1999.

But it was anything but smooth sailing for Monty.

He was first picked for the Springboks under Carel du Plessis, a coach which many felt at the time was out of his depth. This of course, in my view, put doubt in the selection of Monty as a player already as it did some others, believing a coach out of his depth got it wrong with selections as-well.

Monty survived and played a major role in the Mallet era (succeeding Du Plessis) when he was part of the all conquering, 17-tests-in-a-row squad that also won a Tri-Nations. Monty however only really made a name for himself on the end-of-year-tour that year where he replaced Justin Swart at fullback after the latter picked up an injury.

Percy managed to ‘wow’ everyone on that tour including the legendary rugby commentator, Bill McLaren, who once described Monty as an ‘amazing player’.

However, Monty was still not a favourite at home amongst the fans. South African fans who can be described ‘conservative’ at the best of times, did not take well to the peroxide, flashy boots player. In fact, some of his critics were vocal up and till the Rugby World Cup of 2007!

From there a lot of things seemed to go against Percy. His was once boo’d by his own countrymen in a test on home soil, the Australian media even invented a “Percy-award� for the player who makes the worst play during the week, and after he left South Africa for Wales in 2002, Percy was suspended for 6 months (2 years with 18 months suspended) for pushing a touch judge into the ground.

The Percy we all knew was for all money, down and out.

Percy missed selection for the 2003 World Cup (which might have been a blessing in disguise as it ended many a rugby career) partly because of his suspension, but also because of the policy that existed within SA Rugby that no foreign-based player may be selected to represent the Springboks.

Following the disaster of the 2003 Rugby World Cup, one man believed Monty had a major role to play still in Springbok rugby. Jake White, after managing a policy change from within SA Rugby, brought Montgomery back into the Springbok setup in 2004.

The Springboks won the 2004 Tri-Nations under White and all of a sudden, there was hope again in South African rugby and Monty was yet again part of a successful setup, this time as a senior player.

Monty returned from Wales a changed man. His goal-kicking was unmatched in South African rugby and his experience and calm influence helped bring superstars like Bryan Habana through.

In 2005 Monty finally said goodbye to Wales and returned to South Africa where he joined the Sharks.

Under White the Springboks went from being on top of the world in 2004 winning the Tri-Nations, to down in the dumps in 2006 where they lost a number of tests in a row including a 49-0 defeat against Australia. In the end however, they ended on top of the world by winning the 2007 World Cup – and Montgomery was there every step of the way, breaking almost every single record imaginable while doing it.

Montgomery holds close to 90 records, too many to mention here. But the most significant of these are of course the fact that he is the leading points scorer of all time and obviously, the most capped player of all time.

Percival Colin Montgomery basically won every medal a South African rugby player can wish for, apart from a Super 14 winning medal to which he came within 2 minutes of adding to his collection with a heartbreaking defeat in the Super 14 final to the Bulls in 2007 while he was at the Sharks.

This weekend will see Percy add one more milestone to his incredibly long list of achievements, the first Springbok to reach the 100 test mark.

It is a remarkable achievement, and a remarkable story that got him this far.

Truly amazing people, truly amazing ‘legends’ are those who refuse to give up, those who, through adversity, still manage to reach the pinnacle of their profession or their dreams and goals.

Percival Montgomery had all that, he went through all that – hell he even won the anti-Percy (and award given to the best player or play) award from the self-same Aussie commentators that invented the Percy award!

I cannot think that there can be any Percy-critics left in South Africa after what he has achieved, and that is the mark of a truly great player.

I will bet my life-savings that come Saturday, and Percy being the player he is, will treasure his 100th jersey more than any of the other 99 jersey’s he has received over an international career that exceeded 10 years.

I will bet my mother’s life savings that 50 years from now, my grandkids will still read about Colin Percival Montgomery, and some of the records he still holds within South African rugby.

You have done the Springbok rugby jersey proud sir. You have worn the Springbok emblem with pride through the toughest times imaginable and you are the perfect example of what it means to be a Springbok.

You are a compliment to the brand, and to the history of Springbok rugby and those who wore the jersey before you.

For this reason I do not believe you should be called a legend, because nothing about your career and what you did as a Springbok is nonhistorical or even a fable.

You are what the dictionary describes as; “noble, significant, loyal, humble, notable, remarkable, exceptionally outstanding�.

You are one of the very few, Springbok Greats!

Well done Percy on becoming the first Springbok to earn 100 caps!