Mannetjies Roux

Francois Du Toit "Mannetjies" Roux (born 12 April 1939[1]) is a former South African rugby player. He was capped 27 times; 6 times at wing and 21 times at centre, scoring 6 tries.[2]

Mannetjies Roux
Birth nameFrançois Du Toit Roux
Date of birth (1939-04-12) 12 April 1939
Place of birthVictoria West, Northern Cape, South Africa
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1960
1961
1965		 Western Province
Northern Transvaal
Griqualand West		 ()
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1960–70 South Africa 27 (30)

Rugby career

Born in Victoria West and educated at Paarl Boys High, he went to Stellenbosch University; an institution known for serving as a conveyor belt of future Springboks. Later on he joined the South African Air Force in Pretoria where he was a Harvard instructor.[3]

He won his first cap, at wing, against Wales in Cardiff in 1960, which the Springboks won 3-0 thanks to a Keith Oxlee penalty. The selectors chose him as a wing on occasions as they thought him difficult to combine with in mid-field.[4]

He possessed a great deal of pace and was a ferocious defender, despite his lack of size. He was perhaps best known for his tackle on England and British Lions flyhalf Richard Sharp, while playing for Northern Transvaal (the Blue Bulls) in 1962, which broke Sharp's jaw or cheekbone.[5]

Controversy seemed to follow him almost throughout his career, with Roux achieving notoriety on the demo-ridden 1969/70 Springbok tour of the United Kingdom for kicking one protester in the backside and hurling the ball at another.[6]

Retirement

Retiring in 1970, after he led Griqualand West to only their third Currie Cup title to date (having also represented Western Province at the start of his career, in addition to Northern Transvaal), he eventually returned to the town of his birth.

He and his wife Charlotte are currently running a shop and museum called Victoria Trading Post in Victoria West.[7]

Trivia

According to legend, he got his nickname (originally "Mannetjie", Afrikaans for little man) from a domestic worker, who apparently found his cockiness quite amusing. The "s" at the end was added only much later by his wife. The addition of the "s" is affectionate. During a conversation, Mannetjies referred to the house in Victoria West where he played as a young boy. The high stoep (porch) around the house made the domestic worker to warn him with “Mannetjie, pasop dat jy nie daar afval nie” ("Mannetjie watch out that you don’t fall down from there"). Follow link to see picture

The Afrikaans artist Laurika Rauch has a well-known song with the title "Stuur groete aan Mannetjies Roux" ("Greetings to Mannetjies Roux") and a film based on the song. As a tribute, she performed the song to him (who was standing alongside her) at a Blue Bulls vs Stormers Super Rugby-game at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in 2011.

See also

References
  • Mannetjies Roux at the Springbok Rugby Hall of Fame
  • Greyvenstein, Chris (1987). 20 Great Springboks. Don Nelson. ISBN 1-86806-031-4.

Notes
  1. van der Bijl, Johannes (1978). Die Familie Roux (in Afrikaans). Instituut vir Geskiedenisnavorsing. p. 227. ISBN 0-86965-464-0.
  2. "SA Rugby Player Profile – Mannetjies Roux". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  3. "Centennial Celebrations in Kuruman". The South African Harvard Club. Archived from the original on October 24, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-02.
  4. Greyvenstein, Chris (1987). 20 Great Springboks. ISBN 1-86806-031-4.
  5. "Fourth test; 11 September 1970 | Rugby-Talk.com". www.rugby-talk.com. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
  6. Richards, Huw (2011-09-30). A Game for Hooligans: The History of Rugby Union. Random House. ISBN 9781780573281.
  7. "Victoria Trading Post". Visit Victoria West. Archived from the original on 2009-05-12. Retrieved 2009-05-02.
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