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Jeffrey Perkins - FNB Star of the Week

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We profile Jeffrey Perkins of Marais Viljoen, our FNB Star of the Week.

It was the last minute of the match. Monnas were leading Marais Viljoen 24-23 as the final whistle came rushing nearer. There was a scrum on the Monnas'22, in front of the posts. Marais Viljoen looked to go right. Monnas expected them to play to their try-machine, big Marco Kotzé. Instead the ball flashed back from scrumhalf Armand Greyling to fullback Jeffrey Perkins who smacked over a drop.

Marais Viljoen beat the mighty Monnas 26-24 to stay top of the Golden Lions League for Big Schools, the only unbeaten team in the league.

Cool Jeffrey Perkins is our FNB Star of the week. Kicking drops takes guts. Miss and people jeer. Succeed as Naas Botha did often, Jannie de Beer did in Paris to slaughter England and Jonny Wilkinson does often, and you are a hero, as Jeffrey Perkins was.

Kicking drops is also demoralising. Monnas had not done anything wrong – missed tackles, dropped a ball. They had just stood their, mouths agape as their hearts sank in undeserved disappointment.

ironically Jeffrey Perkins spent his first high school year at Monnas, which he enjoyed. Then they moved from Johannesburg's west to Johannesburg's south-east and off Jeffrey Perkins went to Marais Viljoen of Alberton, into Grade 9 (Std 7).

Now he is in Grade 12 (matric) and a school prefecet, a ypoung man of modest demeanour, quiet and set on making a success of his rugby.

He can play in any position behind the scrum, except scrumhalf, and played much of this year at centre, a centre who can cut the line. Injuries necessitated his move to fullback. He can kick and he can tackle and above all he can run.He is fast for a rugby player – 11,1 for the 100m – and he enjoys running. "I prefer it to tackling," he says with a laugh.

His coach, Oupa van der Merwe, a former Transvaal prop, will tell you how well he reads a game. Patrick Moroney of Marais Viljoen will tell you that his success is the result of a lot of hard work over the years. A fast fullback who works hard, reads a game, kicks well and likes to attack – there must be a great future in rugby boots.

That is the sort of future Jeffrey Perkins wants. Being chosen for the Golden Lions Craven Week side is already a foot on the ladder to success.

Future? He has a job offer from a club in Sheffield. If that does not work, he is off to Pukke and its Rugby Institute.

Jeffrey Perkins was born in Johannesburg on 5 May 1986. He has three older brothers – two flanks and a centre. The one flank is playing in Taranaki at present.

For Jeffrey Perkins the immediate job is to beat Florida and win a bonus point to stay a point ahead of Monnas who have compensated for defeat by scoring more bonus points. Jeffrey Perkins loves playing rugby and doing it for Marais Viljoen.

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