The Old Diocesan Issue 12 - Magazine - Page 97
SPORT
Rob Fleck on the world's greatest
rugby stage, playing Australia in the
Rugby World Cup 1999 semi-final,
an epic match decided in overtime
by a Stephen Larkham drop goal.
what I can say is Bishops was an
opportunity for me. I was exposed
to a different world, and it gave me
a bit of direction and a bit of belief
and confidence, the way the school
was run, the way the teachers
handled things, and the mates
I made. So it was an opportunity
to grow from a boy into a man,
and it was the best environment
to do that in.
PHOTOGRAPH GALLO IMAGES
A favourite sports memory from
your school days?
There were many. Whether it was
playing fourth-team water polo
in matric and just having fun, or
running the hurdles final on Sports
Day, or playing day-night cricket.
And then, obviously, playing for
the First XV. Playing for Bishops
in my final year and winning at
Rondebosch – doing the traditional
run from the Mallett Centre to
Rondebosch, and getting changed,
then beating them on their field,
and then jumping into the pool
after the game. Those are the sort
of special memories you always
keep with you.
Most influential teacher?
Not one specifically. The teachers
I became close to were Basil Bey,
Paul Dobson and Tim HamiltonSmith – of course, they were the
rugby guys. And Alan Douglas.
I didn’t often see them in the
classroom, but they had a huge
influence on developing my rugby,
and on me as a person – my
values and my character.
Your proudest record or best skill
as a sportsman?
Just being able to play for the
Bishops First XV was massive for
me. I came from Wynberg halfway
through Standard 6, and I always
wanted to play for Bishops,
because of the way they played
and the legacy around Basil Bey.
When I moved across, that was
my drive or purpose: to play for
the First XV and to play for Basil.
And then I ended up down in the
U16C in Standard 8… But Basil
watched me during house matches
for Ogilvie against School House,
and the next year he took me
up to Firsts. Herschelle went to
the West Indies with the South
African cricket team [as part of the
squad for the first post-isolation
Test match], and suddenly there
was a flyhalf position open at the
start of the season.
I played in the warm-up games,
and I think the first league game
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