Pieter Jordaan - Captain of Grey College
Grey College captain Pieter Jordaan will be a key man for his team when they travel to Pretoria to take on Affies in their FNB Classic Clashes encounter on Saturday afternoon.
The skilful inside back will wear the No.12 jersey for Grey this weekend, despite playing at flyhalf last year – a position he occupied at Craven Week level for Free State in 2011.
Speaking about which position he prefers the most, Pieter tells the official Classic Clashes website: “I really don’t mind where I play!
“At the moment it’s better for the team that I play at inside centre, so I’m very happy playing there.”
Grey College have, by their very high standards, had an up and down 2012 campaign thus far.
They opened their season with a 29-45 loss to Paarl Gim – the top-rated school at present in the FNB Top 20 rankings – but have since reeled off nine successive wins; beating Jim Fouché (17-), Hentie Cilliers (37-25), Westville (43-8), Duineveld (17-10), Nico Malan (60-31), Louis Botha (26-14), Waterkloof (37-20), EG Jansen (41-22) and Selborne (54-5).
“We struggled a bit after that loss to Gim,” admits Jordaan. “We have been winning since then, but things hit an upward curve at the Wildeklawer tournament and it can only get better from here.”
According to Jordaan the players took it upon themselves to raise their own games, but also to enjoy things a bit more. “It’s a huge honour to play for this Grey College First XV… but it’s also important to enjoy yourself,” says Grey’s level-headed skipper.
Grey have trained hard this week and when we spoke to Jordaan – on Friday morning – he was on a bus en route to Pretoria with his teammates.
To say there is great excitement would be a great understatement. “We’ve worked hard (this week), but we’ve worked well and smartly,” says Jordaan.
And on their opponents? He replies: “You can’t read much into Affies’ two defeats this year. We’re expecting a tough match, but we’re all looking forward to the game.”
Jordaan is the younger brother of Sharks and SA Sevens star Paul Jordaan – also an inside back in the 15-a-side game and, of course, also a former Grey College and Free State Craven Week star.
Paul, who is just 20 years old, is set to start in the No.13 jersey for the Sharks against the Force in Durban on Saturday (kick-off 3.05pm) and Pieter – at 1,76 metres and 82 kilograms – admits to looking up to his older sibling.
“We speak a lot,” says Pieter, “Paul’s a great example to me. He works hard at his game and it’s something I also try to do.”
As one would expect, Pieter has had numerous offers to further his career away from Bloemfontein once he completes his schooling later this year.
Offers have come from Cape Town and Durban (to join his brother!) and, of course, there is the opportunity to remain within the Free State.
He says of his future: “I haven’t decided yet where I’ll be in 2013 – it’s something I will decide on later this year.
“There are a lot of factors to consider – like playing opportunities and potential studying opportunities – so I will take my time in deciding.”
* Saturday’s match will be broadcast (live) on SuperSport One from 2.45pm onwards. (Kick-off is at 3pm.)
The match will also be re-broadcast on four other occasions over the next few days: Sunday, May 13 (6.40am); Monday, May 14 (5.30pm); Tuesday, May 15 (7.15pm); Wednesday, May 16 (4.15am) – all on SS1.
