Willie le Roux: Proving people wrong
WATCH as Springbok legends Jean de Villiers and Schalk Burger chat to World Cup-winning Bok Willie le Roux about his remarkable career.
Le Roux, often the architect of crucial tries for South Africa, reflects on the highs and lows of his career, while discussing how he copes with criticism.
A Strand boy, Le Roux’s skills have taken him around the world and seen him rack up 70 Springbok.
Fresh off the Springbok’s win over New Zealand in what is already being called one of the greatest Test matches, the Use It or Lose It team sat down for a very entertaining chat.
Le Roux spoke of the challenges of living in a bio bubble and the ‘serious feeling’ between the two teams in the second Test of the British and Irish Lions series in July and August.
He added that the “most fun” he had was when he played for the Cheetahs, while being contracted to Griquas.
He opened up about playing with a fractured scapula (shoulder blade) in the 2019 World Cup semifinal and Final.
“I always had to fight to prove people wrong,” he told Springbok legends Jean de Villiers and Schalk Burger on the Use It or Lose It Show.
Le Roux admitted that criticism from the fans could be “hard” and brutal at times.
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“When I started at the Cheetahs and with the Boks [in 2013] when you did something good everyone loved you and when I made a mistake they still found a way to like the way I play,” he said,.
“Now, they expect it [plays] to always come off. Now, if it doesn’t come off and you don play well, supporters they have bad things to say about you.
“In the earlier days, they [fans] were more forgiving. Now they are much harder [critical] on me.
“You just learn to deal with it.
“I know the coaches and my teammates back me. They are always there for you and they are the guys you go onto the field with.”
Le Roux, 32, also spoke about the role 1995 World Cup-winning Bok Andre Joubert had on his playing style.
He played the first of his 70 Tests against Italy in Durban on 8 June 2013 and featured prominently in the win over the All Blacks on the Gold Coast earlier this month.
Source: Use It or Lose It Show
