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Boland lose two stalwarts to retirement

Wednesday 20th August 2008

Game over: Henley du Plessis

The Boland Kavaliers have lost a massive amount of experience from their Currie Cup squad with the announcement on Wednesday of the retirement of stalwarts Henley du Plessis and Fabian Brandt.

Seasoned flanker Henley du Plessis and loosehead prop Fabian Brandt have decided to call it a day due to serious neck and knee injuries respectively.

The double retirements follow that of tighthead prop Tommy Dixon who hung up his boots at the start of the season after 103 matches for the Kavaliers. The three players had a combined match tally of 368 first-class games.

The news comes as huge blow to the Western Cape side who, mid-competition, are languishing at the wrong end of the Currie Cup table.

Boland coach Deon Davids said the retirement of two of his most experienced players is "a massive amount of experienced lost".

Blindside flank and stand-in captain Du Plessis quit after a series of serious neck injuries. Du Plessis had an operation a couple of weeks ago, but injured his neck again in just his second match after the operation. He has played 133 matches for the Kavaliers.

Brandt retires because of a right-knee injury that has not healed properly. His last match for the Kavaliers was in 2006 when he helped Boland to a convincing win against the Leopards in the First League final in Potchefstroom.

"I've been off for 18 months now and the knee doesn't seem to come right. Therefore I have decided to concentrate on coaching in future, " said Brandt, who has represented the Kavaliers 132 times.