As for those who don’t know “he is was not gone with the wind”. blood clots found in his lungs ruled him out of the 2007 WC. Never managed to reach his form when he came back.
Me and my dad loved watching Spies play, he was such an inspiration, but after the 2013 Super Rugby Semi Final against Brumbies, all the star players just left. Incredible player and a real hero
@@DukeMundi not at all mate, it’s ok to provide an opinion without hating man. I’m not that way inclined at all. He’s obviously a fantastic player, but I never saw him as a top elite international player. To me, I would say you are a tad sensitive. Dialogue is key 👍
If he didn't used roids, he could have been so much more. Though the roids are just allegations, the blood clots, amount of injuries he endured, etc are all indications of possible use of roids.
He hit his prime just as I was getting into watching rugby as an American. He was the first player I saw that had sort of the SBW or Cheslin Kolbe vibe, like "I didn't realize humans could do that"
I’ve played rugby for many years now and unfortunately have never heard of him. But from the highlights this man personified the term “beast mode”! Very inspiring to watch him play.
Never saw Pier in action until now reminds me of Jona Lomu at his peak. Definitely signs of a rare athlete strength speed anticipation and tactile awareness something special to watch.
Why did he never go to RWC? He pulled out for fear of being tested for performance enhancing drugs he was the ultimate cheat in the Lance Armstrong mode
The Bulls used him wrong, in last season there he was used for crash rugby... running straight into bigger guys getting knocked back many times. Think that ruined his confidence.
As someone who was born across the water,but I've lived in the U.S 22yrs..Now I was raised on Soccer,(but not the posing,fake,cheating BS we now see) But watching Rugby these days,I must conclude this is the Sport for Americans,not Soccer!..It will never surpass the American football game,but it could be a good filter or an alternative for some? .Just Watch the the NZ 'All Blacks'&their ball handling Skills and at present Ireland ☘️are playing some outstanding World Class Rugby!
I liked Spies and always wondered why he hadn't carved out a longer international career. His athletism, strength, physicality, coordination, and speed for a No8 were awesome.
If I remembered correctly, he started out on wing (like his dad who was also lightning fast) and then moved to eight man. He was/is also a bone fide good man from what I understand.
We were having lunch as a family at a restaurant quite a few years ago. My brother, 6 years old at the time, was a massive Pierre Spies fan. So my grandmother went over to Pierre to ask for a picture with my brother. The occasion was too big for my brother and he hid under the table. Pierre bent down and got under the table with my brother. True gentleman.
I think with Brussow and Burger it shouldnt have made such a big deal, I never rated Spies myself but when looking at these highlights he played in a dominant Bull side and was consistently a try scorer.
@@graemebartmann7872 .. absolutely.. the forwards did it do his skill and talent as much good plus, all those bruising encounters really took away from what he had as a player.. I remember when he first played for the Bulls at wing, wayyy back when he first startedI thought we found our answer to Lomu. But was chosen to go play 8th. He didn’t last long in the wing. One of those… what could’ve been a
I am a Bulls fan.....Spies not a number 8 but a wing......such a good rugby player.....SA rugby did not know what to do with him....because they did not know where to play him.....such a good rugby player.....big,strong and powerfull.
Lots of people have misty eyed memories of him but he was one dimensional. No doubt he is an athletic freak, could of competed at elite level of any sport but he didn’t do any of the hard graft. Just wanted to be the glory runner doing the highlight finishes, in games where his forward pack were going backwards he was nowhere. Great for these TH-cams vids but not on a cold night in Gloucester or Dunedin
Rugby players today would have been the elite shock assault troops used to break enemy army formations back in the medieval era. These dudes are absolute beasts!!! 👀
He had huge potential but never lived up to it. He was mediocre at best as a player. Jake White loved size and that is why he got most of his test caps. As a result, he kept Duane Vermuelen out of the side for about four years. Duane has proved himself as one of the greatest number 8s South Africa has produced yet he missed out on so many opportunities because of the obsession with picking the biggest players in each position. Thank heavens sanity prevailed and we now pick talent over size.
Mediocre?! Nah mate. Spies was the real deal. Tasty on the field, and a great human off of it. He got some sort of illness or ailment, and then his game went downhill. If some of the greats name him as a proper player, then I'll be inclined to take their word over that of a random YT commenter.
I'm inclined to agree. In space he was incredible but had little interest in the contact area or close carrying to create momentum. In fairness I think he played some of his best rugby at the end of his career in Montpellier.
You will notice mostly Bulls bits - he could never translate that to international level and as such will never go down in the history books as a great Springbok - he had everything going for him - speed, size, strength - but it was not there when it mattered at the highest level.
Its the same as the step from school to club, provincial etc. It becomes more about how effective you are as a unit compared to an individual when you reach the top.
To be fair he was diagnosed with Pulmonary Embolism, and its such a shame because it would have been awesome to have seen this man wearing the green n gold jersey more
Crying shame he didn’t have the career his talent deserved, a monster of a rugby player, the size of a second row with the strength of a prop and the speed of a winger……unbelievable physical specimen
Pierre Spies was pretty much South Africa's answer to Jonah Lomu. Spies weighing in at 111kg, 1.94 metres tall, and running the 100m in 11 seconds. A real beast. He was perfectly suited to be a wing too. Just a pity about the blood clots he developed in his lungs. That really robbed us of what would have been one of the Springbok greats. He was never the same after those health issues.
Wonderful player and athlete, as well as a gentleman of rugby renown. I would however highly question the assertion that Pierre could run a 10.7 at 111kg... Perhaps in his highschool days, but not at his competitive size.
Let's be honest, part of the reason he looks so good is Rugby Union athletes aren't exactly known for being the biggest, strongest, fastest or fittest, but credit where it's due, Spies was a joy to watch and is one of the few Union players who I think could / have converted to League and found success.
Ah, cross dresser. You could be a bit more original, surely. Maybe not. Quite happy with the ABs 3 world cups,at least ours were won against 15 men. The ABs did better than expected, especially since we had a moron for a coach, so nothing was expected anyway. And we've never lost to Japan or Italy, or conceded 57 points twice like the Boks did a few years ago. Britney had good beach muscles, perhaps thats why he never really showed up against the big boys. @@jimmiecooper3230
As for those who don’t know “he is was not gone with the wind”. blood clots found in his lungs ruled him out of the 2007 WC. Never managed to reach his form when he came back.
Thank you. It hurts one to read all the clueless comments.
I played violin at his wedding and saw him a couple of times after he stopped playing. Truly a Mensch 👊
Yeah and I think what caused those blood clots is obviousl too 💉
Did steroids have anything to do with that?
The clotting was due to overuse of performance drugs.
Born to be that super athlete. Good values. A role model on and off the field. An absolute pleasure to watch.
was a wing, took steroids and became a loose-forward
@@steveb6718 lol you are funny
@@XD-it3ig what's the difference between a bugatti and dead prostitute?
--
i dont have a bugatti in the garage
Wears head gear must be soft
Eish can't believe he's now my pastor hahaha
Me and my dad loved watching Spies play, he was such an inspiration, but after the 2013 Super Rugby Semi Final against Brumbies, all the star players just left. Incredible player and a real hero
His greatness lie in his all round skills, gamesmanship and humility. Gentle giant.
Total respect from kiwiland. The guy was a beast! Hope he is having a good family life in his retirement.
Pier Spies was a gift to South African Rugby but could have been so much more.
I always found him tremendously overrated at the very top level
@@tomob5715 the guy who hates the praise and accomplishments of others.
@@DukeMundi not at all mate, it’s ok to provide an opinion without hating man. I’m not that way inclined at all. He’s obviously a fantastic player, but I never saw him as a top elite international player. To me, I would say you are a tad sensitive. Dialogue is key 👍
If he didn't used roids, he could have been so much more. Though the roids are just allegations, the blood clots, amount of injuries he endured, etc are all indications of possible use of roids.
He hit his prime just as I was getting into watching rugby as an American. He was the first player I saw that had sort of the SBW or Cheslin Kolbe vibe, like "I didn't realize humans could do that"
Unfulfilled greatness. But will always be one of my favourite players.
I’ve played rugby for many years now and unfortunately have never heard of him. But from the highlights this man personified the term “beast mode”! Very inspiring to watch him play.
Never saw Pier in action until now reminds me of Jona Lomu at his peak. Definitely signs of a rare athlete strength speed anticipation and tactile awareness something special to watch.
Such a great player.Looked like a genuine nice guy too.Thanks for the great memories Pierre.
Why did he never go to RWC? He pulled out for fear of being tested for performance enhancing drugs he was the ultimate cheat in the Lance Armstrong mode
@@kevinowen4824 so true.
@@kevinowen4824 So the reports of blood clots in his lungs was just a ruse, cover up by SA Rugby?
He was diagnosed with an illness and do you think in another competitions they don't get tested. get out of the shell you are living in 😹😹
The Bulls used him wrong, in last season there he was used for crash rugby... running straight into bigger guys getting knocked back many times. Think that ruined his confidence.
He could have been one of the greatest ever. Amazing athlete
If he could defend as well....maybe
He IS one of the best!!!
A great ambassador to humanity!
Still my all-time favourite Springbok Forward !!!
I've only recently started watching rugby here in the states but boy this man would of been a beast in the tight end if he played nfl
As someone who was born across the water,but I've lived in the U.S 22yrs..Now I was raised on Soccer,(but not the posing,fake,cheating BS we now see)
But watching Rugby these days,I must conclude this is the Sport for Americans,not Soccer!..It will never surpass the American football game,but it could be a good filter or an alternative for some?
.Just Watch the the NZ 'All Blacks'&their ball handling Skills and at present Ireland ☘️are playing some outstanding World Class Rugby!
Looked up to him as a child, literally had posters of him in my room
I liked Spies and always wondered why he hadn't carved out a longer international career. His athletism, strength, physicality, coordination, and speed for a No8 were awesome.
He got diagnosed with some of sort of disease buddy
Is he good now? Hope he and his family are living a good life.
@@justinpreid I see him at the gym in Pretoria East regularly. Also runs with his family. Still such a gent.
He got sick.
@@justinpreid Yeah he's good now, his family is too
Some amazing defence there 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
you can tell the boys on his side loved him too, not just for how devastating he was on the field, but as a guy!
I loved this guy.. Beast Spies !
If I remembered correctly, he started out on wing (like his dad who was also lightning fast) and then moved to eight man. He was/is also a bone fide good man from what I understand.
We were having lunch as a family at a restaurant quite a few years ago. My brother, 6 years old at the time, was a massive Pierre Spies fan. So my grandmother went over to Pierre to ask for a picture with my brother. The occasion was too big for my brother and he hid under the table. Pierre bent down and got under the table with my brother. True gentleman.
took a lot of steroids and it messed up his health and he had to retire
Spies was an amazing athlete one of a kind.Only thing that let him down was his defence and ability to turn the ball over like Duane Vermeulen.
Was definitely on the juice 😅
I think with Brussow and Burger it shouldnt have made such a big deal, I never rated Spies myself but when looking at these highlights he played in a dominant Bull side and was consistently a try scorer.
@@henkstols9326 Same
What amazes me it’s not his size it’s his speed for that size.
He used to be a wing and then they moved him to 8. He was very fast for his size
@@wernertukker5420 If he stayed at wing,he would've been devastating
@@graemebartmann7872 .. absolutely.. the forwards did it do his skill and talent as much good plus, all those bruising encounters really took away from what he had as a player..
I remember when he first played for the Bulls at wing, wayyy back when he first startedI thought we found our answer to Lomu. But was chosen to go play 8th. He didn’t last long in the wing. One of those… what could’ve been a
This guy made back line players look average, with his blistering speed, he was a freak of nature 🔥🔥🔥
Love Spies. Especially in 2008/2009.
Loved that bulls era and Jake whites Springboks
Childhood hero...
Always felt we had a safe team (Bulls/Springboks) when he was playing. Legend!
Pierre Spies was a unit!
One of the best South Africa has ever seen...and we have had a few.
great video and great channel all round.
He would make a great shoplifter.
I am a stormers fan, but Spies was my favourite rugby player during is time in the national setup, he was a monster
I am a Bulls fan.....Spies not a number 8 but a wing......such a good rugby player.....SA rugby did not know what to do with him....because they did not know where to play him.....such a good rugby player.....big,strong and powerfull.
Talent,pace,brute strength
The differences between how he played before and after he suffered the blood clots in his lungs, is sadly night and day. He reminds me of Jonah Lomu
One of my favourite players ever
Wow!!!! Leaving wingers in the dust….oh my
A player that never lived up to his true potential. He was such a weapon on his day
What a lot of you are forgetting is sort of the reason he was so great was also the reason he had to quit.
He use to play at the wing so moveing to an 8th man just tells you his power and skills
Not true. He was moved from loose forward to wing as an experiment.
He actually played lock for the Bulls Craven week team in 2002. And no.8 in 2003. I think he was captain that year if I can remember.
What a specimen.
made in the lab
Imagine if he played centre. Dude would have steamed rolled everyone . Set plays from the scrum and he would run through any centre
Legend for sure !! 😁❤
one of the strongest rugby player
Wow this man IS the Latin/Olympics motto "Citius, Altius, Fortius ” translated to “Faster, Higher, Stronger" 💪
Not Habana catching spies with a 20 meter head start. Legends
What a player
Jesus! He would have made an unstoppable Tight End in American football
right? or even a strong safety / outside linebacker
He was awesome, unforgettable before he was forced to stop, would walk into any team possibly in any generation
He had some great battles against Kieran Read who imo had a much better tight game and higher work rate. Spies was unmatched in open field running.
If he ran into me full pelt the way he is with some of these other lads I actually think I would die from the impact force 😂
Great wheels for a man his size. Great athlete.
Lots of people have misty eyed memories of him but he was one dimensional. No doubt he is an athletic freak, could of competed at elite level of any sport but he didn’t do any of the hard graft.
Just wanted to be the glory runner doing the highlight finishes, in games where his forward pack were going backwards he was nowhere.
Great for these TH-cams vids but not on a cold night in Gloucester or Dunedin
Rugby players today would have been the elite shock assault troops used to break enemy army formations back in the medieval era. These dudes are absolute beasts!!! 👀
Hah, nice analogy. But I'd hate to see him go first... kind of why Napoleon reserved his Guard till last
How does he handle a high tackle?
He had huge potential but never lived up to it. He was mediocre at best as a player. Jake White loved size and that is why he got most of his test caps. As a result, he kept Duane Vermuelen out of the side for about four years. Duane has proved himself as one of the greatest number 8s South Africa has produced yet he missed out on so many opportunities because of the obsession with picking the biggest players in each position. Thank heavens sanity prevailed and we now pick talent over size.
Oh crap, Dan Carter rate him once as one of the most fearsome players in world rugby. Spies was way better than Vermuelen.
Mediocre?! Nah mate. Spies was the real deal. Tasty on the field, and a great human off of it. He got some sort of illness or ailment, and then his game went downhill. If some of the greats name him as a proper player, then I'll be inclined to take their word over that of a random YT commenter.
You are delusional my friend
@@burn6580 nobody is loads better than Vermeulen, he's one of the all time greats.
I'm inclined to agree. In space he was incredible but had little interest in the contact area or close carrying to create momentum. In fairness I think he played some of his best rugby at the end of his career in Montpellier.
You will notice mostly Bulls bits - he could never translate that to international level and as such will never go down in the history books as a great Springbok - he had everything going for him - speed, size, strength - but it was not there when it mattered at the highest level.
You will notice most of those bits are against Kiwi teams..
Well to be fair SA rugby don't know how to use it's own players effectively
Yeah if you followed his rugby career he had a disease in the time he started at the boks. Just before the world cup. Take that into consideration
Its the same as the step from school to club, provincial etc. It becomes more about how effective you are as a unit compared to an individual when you reach the top.
To be fair he was diagnosed with Pulmonary Embolism, and its such a shame because it would have been awesome to have seen this man wearing the green n gold jersey more
That fact that he outrun most of the backs player even wingers ❤😢 number one fan.. I got my nick name from him
Too good.....power and speed
Bismarck and Spies tearing it up
For a number 8 to out sprint Rico Gear is impressive. Shame he didn’t go on to have a long career
Crying shame he didn’t have the career his talent deserved, a monster of a rugby player, the size of a second row with the strength of a prop and the speed of a winger……unbelievable physical specimen
My favorite. Joe van Niekerk. Remember him
Wtf i just saw that eben dude i thght he was a monster this guy is in his own league of wtf 😳
Pierre Spies was pretty much South Africa's answer to Jonah Lomu. Spies weighing in at 111kg, 1.94 metres tall, and running the 100m in 11 seconds. A real beast. He was perfectly suited to be a wing too. Just a pity about the blood clots he developed in his lungs. That really robbed us of what would have been one of the Springbok greats. He was never the same after those health issues.
The streets won't forget Pierre Spies
This guy was a menace springboks had a unstoppable team
Blood hell what a beast, I wonder if they put him at center how that would've gone
Very good bok
One player that truly deserve IRB world cup
Spies💪 from a ab fan
The GOAT 8th man of rugby 💪💪
Mmmmm my 3rd option for Fly half on Rugby 08
The GREATEST last-man....
SPIEEEEESSSSSS!!
Wonderful player and athlete, as well as a gentleman of rugby renown.
I would however highly question the assertion that Pierre could run a 10.7 at 111kg... Perhaps in his highschool days, but not at his competitive size.
Let's be honest, part of the reason he looks so good is Rugby Union athletes aren't exactly known for being the biggest, strongest, fastest or fittest, but credit where it's due, Spies was a joy to watch and is one of the few Union players who I think could / have converted to League and found success.
Wow, tough
I called him the white jonah lomu,but a forward.1 on 1 he was unstoppable.He would of made a great centre/lock in league aswell.
I would love to be genetically gifted like that
A Natural Born Athlete 💪🏾
Greatest number 8 ever !!!
Beast
This thing is an absolute unit🤌🏼
Whats the name of the music at the start
Super awesome ❤️🌹
Flat track bully. No mongrel.
Nice guy, though. Lovely handwriting and a godly man.
Do Bismarck next please
whats this song? cheers
Unfukkenbelievable 😎🇿🇦
Quickest No 8 ever ? 🤔
Yes
1:45 Habana was just crazy fast 😂
What about Nicole White,the"WHITE PRINCESS"??
i remember seeing this dude play the abs and just though "surely this guy is on the juice" but no some people are just moutains
Hmmmm
course he was on the juice
Do one on bismarck du plessis
Legend of the game. Then team him up with Bismarck...
devastating talent
Great in the gym, lacklustre on the field. Almost the opposite to Schalk Burger. Mongrel is more important than muscle.
Indeed...he was lazy and scared of contact.
How can he be this fast with over 100kg holy
Never heard of him, can’t be that good.
Anyone who played professional rugby for a few years can be made to look amazing on a highlights reel.
I believe he was an 800m specialist in high school ...
Looked like Tarzan, played like Jane. There was a reason his nickname was Britney....
Tim russell9868 jealous much are we !! He achieved more on a rugby field that you can only dream off.Get lost !!
@@jimmiecooper3230 Ooooo....did a wasp fly up your dress? He always went missing against the All Blacks. Good ruck inspector though.
Timrussell still crying about your loss in the World Cup are you, cross dresser !! 🤣🤣🤣
Ah, cross dresser. You could be a bit more original, surely. Maybe not. Quite happy with the ABs 3 world cups,at least ours were won against 15 men. The ABs did better than expected, especially since we had a moron for a coach, so nothing was expected anyway. And we've never lost to Japan or Italy, or conceded 57 points twice like the Boks did a few years ago. Britney had good beach muscles, perhaps thats why he never really showed up against the big boys. @@jimmiecooper3230
Stats wise, this man could've been a good nfl player