Moment in time: Gerrie Germishuys

Nicknamed Mouse, Gerrie Germishuys was anything but a rodent during his playing days with the Springboks.

Here is a look back at how old-school wings beat their opponents – no dummy runners, triple switches or back passes.

He used his blistering pace to beat his man.

His true pace was best illustrated when, in a race for rugby players at an athletics track meeting in Bloemfontein, he lined up against  Pierre Spies (the late father of current Bulls and Bok loose forward Pierre), the former a South African champion in the 110-metre hurdles, as well as Hermanus Potgieter, himself a flyer of note.

The debate about who was the fastest rugby player of the time was settled when Germishuys won in a time of 10.8.

However, being fast and using that pace on a rugby field are two different skills and Germishuys had the ability to run and swerve at pace.

With compliments of Theuns Stofberg