Joe van Niekerk was somewhat of a prodigy. He was a sublime schools sportsman and was undoubtedly the king of KES. He very quickly made an impact in first class rugby and was unexpectedly selected for the Springboks by Harry Viljoen in 2001 against the All Blacks. He played a blinder.
He was a regular starter for the Springboks between 2002 and 2004, but a move to the Stormers and his personality clashing with South African coaches had a negative effect on his playing and he missed out on the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
He did return to the Springbok team in 2008 and played his last test in 2010 against Wales.
In 2009 Joe joined Toulon and became a club legend. This video focuses on his career in SA, but go check out his Toulon tributes. The man is a legend and he was one hell of a talented player.
