Dan: It’s obviously been a difficult time for you, Bakkies…

Bakkies: It has, Dan. I really didn’t want it come to this — courts, lawyers, legal action. It’s been emotionally draining, I’m not sleeping, and time and again I just burst into tears for no apparent reason. But I’m determined to leave and get to France, and this is the only route left open to me.

Dan: Why are you so determined to go? Is it more to get out of Pretoria, or to get to France?

Bakkies: Both, to be honest. Last year’s World Cup was a catalytic experience for me, Dan. Walking down streets in the morning, stopping at a café for coffee and a pain au chocolat, dropping in at a gallery and discovering a surrealist retrospective or an undiscovered young impressionist — Gurthro and I had some magical moments exploring the culture between matches, and I’m absolutely hooked on all things Gallic.

Dan: But you’re also keen to leave Loftus…

Bakkies: Don’t get me wrong here, Dan — I love Pretoria, the people, the place. And I’ve been part of an incredibly special team. But it’s just all become too much, too one-dimensional. I’m sick of team braais after every game — how about a sushi evening, or a fondue with a couple of bottles of lightly wooded chardonnay? I absolutely hate 7 de Laan, but after every single practice, it’s off to the team room, and an excruciating half hour with SABC2. And all Derick has to do during a game is tie his shoelaces, and they start playing Liefling; I absolutely hate that wretched song. I just can’t take it anymore — I need to get out, and Toulon is where I want to be.

Dan: Do you think your team-mates will understand your feelings?

Bakkies: I hope so, Dan, but I’m not sure. To be honest, most of the guys aren’t very good about talking about their feelings. I’ve tried a couple of times on pre-season camps to get everyone together, and speak openly about love, fear, hope, the important things in life. A few candles, some incense sticks, a little Café del Mar playing quietly in the background. But no one except Gurthro ever makes the effort; in minutes they’re all talking about cars, or women, or hunting, which I absolutely abhor. Senseless killing — brings me to the verge of tears just thinking about it.

Dan: So there’s no way back to the Bulls, then?

Bakkies: I don’t think so, Dan. Last year I tried to get the guys to do something different for pre-season team-building — take in a festival, go to the theatre, maybe put on a musical as a squad. A little Gilbert and Sullivan, maybe even some Lloyd Webber; having seen Wynand tackle, he’d have been a perfect Phantom. But what did we end up doing? Monster truck racing, and a night at Pedrie’s place watching old editions of Wrestlemania. With a braai. It’s not me, Dan. I guess I’m just drifting away from them all.

Dan: So it’s off to Toulon, then, if all goes according to plan. Some people have pointed out the irony of you moving to a club that Victor has just quit because of the levels of violence?

Bakkies: I thought that might come up. Look, I don’t have an unblemished record, but it’s never been more than passion for the game spilling over. And that’s exactly what you see in France: passion. Sometimes it’s a little excessive, granted, but I rather that than a game in which everyone isn’t completely involved and dedicated.

Dan: Would you ever bite another player?

Bakkies: No. That was a terrible mistake. After I bit the Australian (Brendan Cannon), I was on rabies jabs, yellow fever medication and TB alert for nearly six months. In and out of hospital in case I’d contracted something from him. Thankfully I was okay — heaven knows what would have happened if I’d bitten someone like Matt Dunning or Owen Finegan — but I learnt a salient lesson.

Dan: Adieu, then, Monsieur Botha. Will we see you back in South Africa again?

Bakkies: Definitely. Gurthro is launching an anthology of poetry later this year, a collection of beautiful, poignant work on life in the front row. Robbie Kempson, CJ van der Linde and James Dalton have all contributed to it, so I’ll be back for that. And I have my final cello exam in Pretoria in November, which would put me at orchestra level. But rugby? Non; je vais finir en France. C’est la vie pour moi maintenant. L’Afrique du Sud? Je l’ai aime, mais maintenant, je dois partir.

Contact Dan at dan@metropolis.co.za

RSS

Digg

de.li.cious

facebook