You get sportsmen that just simply have it and others that just go through the motions

I was thinking about about this the other day...you get guys and women that are born instinctively with style, ability and class and you get the plodders and the also rans and been and done it but there's a huge gap.

You just some guys, some families, some blood that continue to shape at all sports but can only really shine at one.

Martin Hernandez is an example...at one stage the Maradona of rugby in Argentina, his sister and Olympic star in hockey, an uncle in the Soccer World Cup in 1982 for Argentina...the Kirsten family...Peter, Michael, Gary...all played both rugby and cricket and were good at both but chose one...Scooter was another,cricket, rugby and soccer, Hansie Cronje captained one of  Grey Bloems best 1st XV with Rueben Kruger in the side plus a few other greats...Daryl Bestal excelled captained and played rugby,hockey and cricket at the highest level...most of them can also be very competitive in golf too.

It's rather like horse racing which of course only allows thoroughbreds but the ones with punch more than not keep it in the bloodline.

It's no big news, we all realise there's something in it...some of our young hopefuls have it...Lambie got it for sure (something extra above his rivals), when the comparisons are made it is the pure class that shines through.

Yup that's right...I remember Jeff Wilson...a great left wing if my memory is right and a cricketer of note...the list goes on and on.

The other intrigueing aspect of this is the world must have lost many,many stars and champions simply because the enviroment or culture did not play that particular sport...how many Dan Carters, John Smits, Jonny Wilkinsons,Zin Zan Brookes etc..etc

lie buried/or unknown in vast lands in Eastern Europe, Germany, Scandanavia, USA, Brazil, Russia, China, USA and many others. And then that's just rugby...what about other sports.

Tennis, golf, soccer has spread more or less (exceptions are countries like Mongolia) but there must be people with potential missing the boat.

Some find their way home...Thierry Dusautoir came from Central Africa (Ivory Coast) a very small minnow in rugby...Jonah Lomu from Tongo...Sebastien Chabal only started playing rugby at 16, before that hardly heard of the game. Will Genia was from Papua New Guinea and there are many others.

Are there Dan Carters in China, Russia, Ukraine or USA and Brazil???...must be if there are so champions in the Olympics, Soccer, Tennis etc that come from here compared to SA, NZ, England, France etc...ironically Oz does best in all games Olympic wise but that's another question.

 Seb

I agree fully with you on this issue.   You get ball players and others.   You put a ball in their hands or require from them to hit a ball and they make hay.

However, you would find that the top performers are not necessarily the best physical specimens - to be that you need players who are not only athletic,  but they need to have ball sense.   Of those players mentioned by you all of them had that instinctive feeling and reading of games whereby at any time during games they can determine what is needed for the best advantage of their teams. 

The best team sport players are always the brainy sort - not the ones that try and use only force to make their marks as sportsmen.  I for one like thinking players ahead of ones who go through the motions without really thinking what they are doing.  

 Ceradyne

You cannot remember anything as per normal.  It was Jacky Snyman,  They were the sons of a Ds Snyman.  They are relatives of mine.   Yjeir grandmother was Aunt Maggie Pauw - a sister of my grandfather - who bought my grandfather's house in Still Bay from him.  Still the Snyman family home in Still Bay. 

Just one question - maybe somebody will know.  Were Abie and Avril Malan brothers?  I believe they were.  I know Prof Avril Malan was at one stage Member of Partliament for Gezina (Pretoria)  and believe he was their father.