The Sports Editor

Gary Wheadon has excelled in squash from a young age. Gary has gone on to represent South Africa and has traveled a number of times flying the SA flag high. He has also won the Jarvis Cup (now called the Growthpoint Championship) and continues to do what he does best on the squash court - give his opponent a jolly tough time.  

Enjoy the discussion!

Brett Schultz progressed well through the cricket ranks to eventually be called up to represent South Africa. In what was a short career with the national team, Brett made an impact on the team and country and had devastating pace and the ability to swing and reverse swing the ball.  Brett only played 60 First-Class matches and took a total of 233 wickets but injury never allowed him to be as consistent as he wished to be.

Brian Liebenberg attended Pretoria Boys High School and pursued a professional rugby career in Europe. After a short stint in Italy, Brian did well at Stade Français as well as Grenoble. Brian went on to represent France and played in the 2003 Rugby World Cup, win the 6 Nations Championship and build a career where he was known as a hard runner and great carrier of the ball with immense defensive abilities. 

Brian has now turned his attention to Catch&Think - a unique rugby programme which is set to transform the way rugby is coached and will also assist the coaches in being better at their role. The mental aspect of his programme is set to make an impact which will develop the children holistically. This is a product that you needs to get your hands on if you are a rugby coach and/or player. 

Watch this space for more on his incredible product!

Ben Venter, who has made an impact on the rugby field in more ways than one, shared his story with The Sports Editor. Ben who is a natural athlete decided to pursue rugby as a career and it paid dividends as he represented Griquas, Border Bulldogs and spent a good number of years playing in France representing Chambéry, Bordeaux Bègles and Montauban. Ben who is a force to be reckoned with on the rugby field also enjoys his time fishing and is a coach at Unimil Rugby Club.

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Adrian Kuiper, who is well known for his power hitting and for often sending bowlers back to their runs up after some heavy blows with lowered heads, had an autonomous ability to turn a game in his favour. He can easily be refereed to as a player who was ahead of his time as he would have dominated in the T20 format. Adrian spent the majority of his cricket career with Western Province and represented South Africa 25 times in ODI's. 

Adrian had a First-Class batting average of 32.24 with 46 half-centuries to his name. The Bishops College cricketer also took 196 First-Class wickets. 

Adrian is currently a farmer in Elgin, Western Cape. 

Jayden Schadendorf, who has represented Zimbabwe U19's, has spent a good amount of time playing cricket in Australia, New Zealand and has now put his focus on doing well in England. Jayden has built a reputation of being a hard hitter and has impressed on regular occasions with the bat as his average is sitting at 40. His current club, Newtown Linford CC has been a great stepping stone for Jayden as he has his eyes set on playing international cricket. 

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Shaun Sowerby, who began his rugby career at The Sharks, found himself spending the majority of his career in France with Stade Francais, Toulouse and Grenoble. This is after Shaun was in the South Africa U23 team with the likes of Butch James and Jake White as a coach.  Shaun has now spent the last 6 years coaching the game of rugby and we spoke on how he has found the coaching world, specifically with his club, Biarritz Olympique.

The rugby culture of France was also looked at and what effect it has on the players in France including the school system and how it differs from South Africa. 

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Andre Nel, who is well known for his bowling exploits, has taken up a coaching role with his former club, Essex. Andre talks about why he pursued a coaching role specifically as a bowling coach and how the dynamics of coaching the modern player have changed. We also discuss the different bowling conditions between England and South Africa as well as what it is like having Sir Alastair Cook in the change room. 

Andre gives a great talk on his career and what has led to Essex's recent success. 

JP Smith, who has represented South Africa at the U20 level, has an incredible amount of potential and eagerness. JP did well with the Blue Bulls before having a stint with the Cheetahs but has now found his new home in Seattle, Washington with the Seattle Seawolves.  

Bernard Jackman, who has represented Ireland in rugby, spoke to The Sports Editor about his playing career as he represented Connacht, Leinster and Sale Sharks. Bernard has given a lot back to the game as he has coached a number of teams and has also focused on bringing awareness of the effects of concussion into the game.

(Please note that we spoke during the week of the Pro 14 semi-finals hence some referrals are made about the event).