Gerhard Strydom – Winterberg captain
Player Profile
Winterberg Agricultural College host Adelaide Gimnasium in a FNB Classic Clash on Saturday. Gerhard Strydom captains the hosts from the side of the scrum.
Gerhard Strydom was born in Port Alfred on 4 May 1988. His attended primary school in Port Alfred and started playing flank from an early age. His parents still live there but Gerhard decided he wanted a change and was attracted by the agricultural element of the school. The move has obviously been a resounding success for him as apart from being 1st XV captain Gerhard is headboy of the school and the hostel. Somewhat surprisingly for such an achiever Gerhard does not yet know what he wants to do when leaving school. He is looking into studying in Bloemfontein but as yet doesn't know what.
Gerhard is a blindside flank and wears the No.7 jersey. As one would expect from a classic blindsider Gerhard prides himself on his rock solid defence and strong work ethic. Not one who is often seen running with the ball he prefers getting stuck in a ripping ball away from unsuspecting opponents. His two heroes are the Western Province pair of tearaways Schalk Burger and Luke Watson.
Winterberg have a small team but more than make up for their size by playing with huge amounts of spirit and heart. They have had a reasonable season with the highlight for Gerhard being their win over Cradock. They also beat Burgersdorp and ran Union High close, but the Cradock win stands out as it came after a period in which they had been struggling and had hit a bit of a low. The headboy used all his leadership experience to pull the team together to beat their more fancied opponents.
Saturday FNB Classic Clash is Winterberg’s last game of the season and is their main Interschools derby. Winterberg have lost the last five encounters but playing at home this year Gerhard is positive his men will summon their last remaining reserves of spirit and successfully turn the tables in their favour.
