Christian played in three CC finals, 1988 vs. Northerns (won 19-18 by the latter at Loftus), 1995 vs. Natal won by Natal 25-17 in Durban and the last one which was also a loss vs. the Bulls in 1998. He played flyhalf in that match won 24-20 by the Bulls, in that same year he finally made his Bok debut.
Remember Ollie interview, he alluded to Christian Bok selection was based on that performance at 10. It was a wildcard Bok selection considering Christian was a solid 12 but lacked pace and the kicking game of the more experienced and superior Franco Smith.
Yes indeed, Ollie referenced it in his chat with me. We'll never know but in an alternative scenario maybe Christian would have been a fixture in the Bok side from around 1994 to 1996/97 maybe and then Franco would have taken over and gone all the way to the World Cup in 03. But we can only speculate! PS Got Franco coming up soon too.
Hated him as a player because he was so good and played for WP. He sounds like a great guy however. Franco Smith's dad was my rugby coach in 1983. Franco was just a year after me I think.
Yes I think when players like Christian were in the opposition ranks it was easy to not be happy about the situation! He really was a great player. Cool Franco Smith story! By the way, Franco is going to be on here next month so watch out for that.
Great interview, Christan was a no thrills 12 whose time at WP transcended the last years of isolation and early years of professional rugby. A shock selection for Boks from memory. He spot on about that Canadian team at 1991 WC. Had a world class forward pack led by Norm Hadley.
Thanks Nunu. Yes, Christian was a great guest and was a talented player. Unlucky not to have had more international caps for the Boks but maybe if he hadn't played for Canada so close to the 1995 Rugby World Cup, an extended period in the Bok side might have been in the offing. We'll never know!
It is important to remember them. Everyone to have donned that famous green and gold jersey is a hero. Whether it was 10 minutes or 100 Tests. Christian unlucky not to have played a lot more.
Great interview agian Peter..Thank you so much..I actually didn't know he played for Canada..Wonder what he thought about the big Canadian fight during the 95 WC..would be awesome if you could get Henry Hanibal on..
Yeah he was unlucky not to have had a proper run in the Springbok side but perhaps it was nicely made up for by playing in two World Cups for Canada. And of course helping them reach the quarter-finals in 1991. Would love to have Henry on the show. I am working towards that. Let's see if I can get him!
Haha, sure. My wife and I were there about five years ago and just loved it. The food is incredible, the sights are really enjoyable, there's a really fun energy and atmosphere in the city and it's reasonably well-price too which is always great. I can tell you honestly I could live there.
Great stuff as per usual. I was wondering if you have any world cup plans. If you could invite your Springbok guests to give their opinions during the tournament would be awesome and something I would really enjoy. Perhaps Live youtube shows if possible where us fans could chip in. You have had such great guests and there is no other way we could get to hear their take on the the Boks at the World Cup. I reckon you have the character to pull this off and super grow your channel too. All the best bud.
Gosh, I can't believe I missed this message. Thank you for the feedback and the great ideas. So I actually started my World Cup coverage on Sunday with a David Kirk interview. Gysie Pienaar went up yesterday and Heyneke Meyer tomorrow. Not planning on doing anything live at this stage, but I will have plenty of previews, reviews and other World Cup-related content. Please do let me know what you think when you see them.
@@frontrowrugby Gysie on the show was was amazing, I watched him live for the Free State and Boks many times. What memories of his speed of thought. I reckon Willie Le Roux as a young boy modelled his game on Gysie. I really look forward to Heyneke, that guy had some passion for the Bokke.
@@codepuncher Glad you enjoyed it! I was very happy to be able to get Gysie on the show. Willie may very well have modelled his game on that of Mr Pienaar and why not? I'm sure you'll enjoy the Heyneke interview. It goes up tomorrow morning.
Hi Peter, thanks for another great interview my little WP/Stormers loving heart truly enjoyed this. I prefer watching your vids on a Monday as it’s a treat for making it through without an major disasters. This is a player I remember quite vividly as my sister who is 9 years my senior had the biggest crush on him and Lance Sherrell 😂 I have shared the video with her I hope she watches it. I find it interesting re Christian’s view on centres, I think the days of not having to be the fastest is well behind us. Some of the kids playing at 12 are ridiculously fleet of foot. I was also seriously entertained by him. His story about Honiball confirmed my suspicions, H looks like a man of view words. This was the first time I actual knew the answer to the trivia question lol
Whoo! So glad you enjoyed another video. If Mondays work better for you then by all means do Mondays - don't worry about me and my Sunday things ;) Haha on the crush - I recall Lance too. That would have been early-mid 90s mostly. Lance left to go to the Sharks as I recall. Stransky and then Louis Koen became the Province 10s. And yes a different era for sure. I remember De Wet Barry being used as an additional loose forward option at the breakdown if he was in the vicinity for example. I'm also glad Christian had a good laugh with me on the show. That's what we want - fun, interesting and engaging conversations. I'd say we get it 90% of the time! Whoo! You knew the answer to the trivia question! They're not really that difficult are they? I try to put something in there that is easy enough but hopefully needs a bit of a think.
@@frontrowrugby I love the variety, not everyone needs to be a joker some of them come with other interesting story but what I love most is none of them come across like a-holes. Whooohooo for Pieter Roussouw next week. He was deceptively fast. I honestly thought we would see Chris before we saw Pieter but I am not complaining.
Yes, quite right. Not everyone needs to be a joker and I think to be honest most of the guys have been interesting rather than funny. But for sure none of them have come across like a-holes which is great! I knew you'd like the idea of a Pieter Rossouw video!
@@frontrowrugby always very pleased to see one of my WP/Stormers boys on the channel but even more so one when they are one of the back to back Currie Cup winners😅 and this why the rest of the unions think WP/Stormers supporters are insufferable. The content is always great and the gents are always very friendly and game to tell a few jokes which is a testament to your interviewing skills
Thank you, that's very kind of you but I must tell you sometimes it can be very difficult. Not so much here but in other jobs I've done it's been like pulling teeth sometimes. No matter what you ask you can't get a decent answer. I think it also helps that the interviews here are fairly lengthy so if a guy is a bit unsure at first there's plenty of time to warm up and get into it and then maybe open up a little later in the conversation. Province supporters insufferable? I've never heard of such a thing.
Christian played in three CC finals, 1988 vs. Northerns (won 19-18 by the latter at Loftus), 1995 vs. Natal won by Natal 25-17 in Durban and the last one which was also a loss vs. the Bulls in 1998. He played flyhalf in that match won 24-20 by the Bulls, in that same year he finally made his Bok debut.
Excellent historical knowledge, Ashley. A pity he reached three Currie Cup finals and was unable to finish on the winning side. Not even once.
Remember Ollie interview, he alluded to Christian Bok selection was based on that performance at 10. It was a wildcard Bok selection considering Christian was a solid 12 but lacked pace and the kicking game of the more experienced and superior Franco Smith.
Yes indeed, Ollie referenced it in his chat with me. We'll never know but in an alternative scenario maybe Christian would have been a fixture in the Bok side from around 1994 to 1996/97 maybe and then Franco would have taken over and gone all the way to the World Cup in 03. But we can only speculate! PS Got Franco coming up soon too.
Cool backdrop. Meraloma still going strong in Kitsilano ( Vancouver)
Hated him as a player because he was so good and played for WP. He sounds like a great guy however. Franco Smith's dad was my rugby coach in 1983. Franco was just a year after me I think.
Yes I think when players like Christian were in the opposition ranks it was easy to not be happy about the situation! He really was a great player.
Cool Franco Smith story! By the way, Franco is going to be on here next month so watch out for that.
Great player and good golfer. Steenberg senior club champ too boot.
Certainly a great rugby player ... now we know about his golf too!
How about a show with Henry Honiboll as mentioned by Christian?
I'd love to have Henry on the show. He was actually my favourite player from 1997-1999. Let's see if we can make it happen.
Christian was a great player. Also another player that played rugby for 2 different countries. Thank you Peter for another great interview.
He was a great player and unlucky not to have played more Tests. Glad you enjoyed the video Ben.
Wales
The right answer. I knew you'd get it right.
Wales?
You know your stuff, Jos!
Great interview, Christan was a no thrills 12 whose time at WP transcended the last years of isolation and early years of professional rugby. A shock selection for Boks from memory.
He spot on about that Canadian team at 1991 WC.
Had a world class forward pack led by Norm Hadley.
Thanks Nunu. Yes, Christian was a great guest and was a talented player. Unlucky not to have had more international caps for the Boks but maybe if he hadn't played for Canada so close to the 1995 Rugby World Cup, an extended period in the Bok side might have been in the offing. We'll never know!
Norm Hadley, Al Charron, Gord MacKinnon, Glenn Ennis, and others.
Another forgotten hero and legend. Thanks, Peter. It is important to remember legends like these.
It is important to remember them. Everyone to have donned that famous green and gold jersey is a hero. Whether it was 10 minutes or 100 Tests. Christian unlucky not to have played a lot more.
Great interview agian Peter..Thank you so much..I actually didn't know he played for Canada..Wonder what he thought about the big Canadian fight during the 95 WC..would be awesome if you could get Henry Hanibal on..
Yeah he was unlucky not to have had a proper run in the Springbok side but perhaps it was nicely made up for by playing in two World Cups for Canada. And of course helping them reach the quarter-finals in 1991. Would love to have Henry on the show. I am working towards that. Let's see if I can get him!
@@frontrowrugby oh Peter forgot to ask you..why Istanbul?I've never been so sell it to me...
Haha, sure. My wife and I were there about five years ago and just loved it. The food is incredible, the sights are really enjoyable, there's a really fun energy and atmosphere in the city and it's reasonably well-price too which is always great. I can tell you honestly I could live there.
Great stuff as per usual.
I was wondering if you have any world cup plans. If you could invite your Springbok guests to give their opinions during the tournament would be awesome and something I would really enjoy. Perhaps Live youtube shows if possible where us fans could chip in.
You have had such great guests and there is no other way we could get to hear their take on the the Boks at the World Cup.
I reckon you have the character to pull this off and super grow your channel too.
All the best bud.
Gosh, I can't believe I missed this message. Thank you for the feedback and the great ideas. So I actually started my World Cup coverage on Sunday with a David Kirk interview. Gysie Pienaar went up yesterday and Heyneke Meyer tomorrow.
Not planning on doing anything live at this stage, but I will have plenty of previews, reviews and other World Cup-related content.
Please do let me know what you think when you see them.
@@frontrowrugby Gysie on the show was was amazing, I watched him live for the Free State and Boks many times. What memories of his speed of thought. I reckon Willie Le Roux as a young boy modelled his game on Gysie.
I really look forward to Heyneke, that guy had some passion for the Bokke.
@@codepuncher Glad you enjoyed it! I was very happy to be able to get Gysie on the show. Willie may very well have modelled his game on that of Mr Pienaar and why not?
I'm sure you'll enjoy the Heyneke interview. It goes up tomorrow morning.
Hi Peter, thanks for another great interview my little WP/Stormers loving heart truly enjoyed this. I prefer watching your vids on a Monday as it’s a treat for making it through without an major disasters.
This is a player I remember quite vividly as my sister who is 9 years my senior had the biggest crush on him and Lance Sherrell 😂 I have shared the video with her I hope she watches it.
I find it interesting re Christian’s view on centres, I think the days of not having to be the fastest is well behind us. Some of the kids playing at 12 are ridiculously fleet of foot.
I was also seriously entertained by him. His story about Honiball confirmed my suspicions, H looks like a man of view words.
This was the first time I actual knew the answer to the trivia question lol
Whoo! So glad you enjoyed another video. If Mondays work better for you then by all means do Mondays - don't worry about me and my Sunday things ;)
Haha on the crush - I recall Lance too. That would have been early-mid 90s mostly. Lance left to go to the Sharks as I recall. Stransky and then Louis Koen became the Province 10s.
And yes a different era for sure. I remember De Wet Barry being used as an additional loose forward option at the breakdown if he was in the vicinity for example.
I'm also glad Christian had a good laugh with me on the show. That's what we want - fun, interesting and engaging conversations. I'd say we get it 90% of the time!
Whoo! You knew the answer to the trivia question! They're not really that difficult are they? I try to put something in there that is easy enough but hopefully needs a bit of a think.
@@frontrowrugby I love the variety, not everyone needs to be a joker some of them come with other interesting story but what I love most is none of them come across like a-holes.
Whooohooo for Pieter Roussouw next week. He was deceptively fast. I honestly thought we would see Chris before we saw Pieter but I am not complaining.
Yes, quite right. Not everyone needs to be a joker and I think to be honest most of the guys have been interesting rather than funny. But for sure none of them have come across like a-holes which is great!
I knew you'd like the idea of a Pieter Rossouw video!
@@frontrowrugby always very pleased to see one of my WP/Stormers boys on the channel but even more so one when they are one of the back to back Currie Cup winners😅 and this why the rest of the unions think WP/Stormers supporters are insufferable.
The content is always great and the gents are always very friendly and game to tell a few jokes which is a testament to your interviewing skills
Thank you, that's very kind of you but I must tell you sometimes it can be very difficult. Not so much here but in other jobs I've done it's been like pulling teeth sometimes. No matter what you ask you can't get a decent answer. I think it also helps that the interviews here are fairly lengthy so if a guy is a bit unsure at first there's plenty of time to warm up and get into it and then maybe open up a little later in the conversation.
Province supporters insufferable? I've never heard of such a thing.
I think it's Wales
Quite right!!
Wales 13/12
Yip, a the narrowest of defeats for the Boks.
Wales
Spot on!