I received this tribute to Gawie Visagie on email yesterday & thought Id share with all of you that knew Gawie : GABRIËL PIETER VISAGIE 1955-2014 It is with deep sadness that we pay tribute to one of the “Legends of ‘84”, the inimitable Gawie Visagie, who passed away in the early hours of this morning following a long battle with cancer. Born in Vereeniging on March 31, 1955, Gawie would have turned 60 next year. The younger brother of former Springbok flyhalf Piet Visagie, the lynchpin of the Bok backline in the epic series triumph over the 1970 All Blacks (pictured with Gawie at the recent Natal Class of 1984 reunion), Gawie, like his elder sibling, cut his teeth with the erstwhile and legendary Ammosal Rugby Club at the Beeshoek mine near Postmasburg in the Northern Cape. He swiftly established himself as the regular and outstanding scrumhalf for Griquas in the late Seventies, and his performances in the 1979 Currie Cup season, which saw the Peacock Blues force their semi-final clash with Western Province in Kimberley right down to the wire (WP scraped through 20-15), earned Gawie selection for the SA Barbarians touring party to the UK, as well as an SARB Young Player of the Year nomination. A brief stint with Maties, during which he represented the late Dr Danie Craven’s champion charges at the 1980 Toyota Club Championship in Durban, paved the way for Gawie’s ultimate transfer to Durban Collegians and Natal in 1981 - sharing a digs with his big mate Wynand Claassen (pictured with Gawie at the 2004 reunion). The freckled-faced athlete at scrumhalf wasted little time in making his mark at KINGS PARK, celebrating his Currie Cup debut for Natal in the 22-18 victory over Free State in early 1981. Three months later Gawie was flown out to New Zealand as a Springbok replacement on the infamous “demo tour” that year, and he would go on to represent the green and gold in three tour matches, against Nelson Bays (recording a brace of tries in the 83-0 Bok romp), North Auckland and Midwest in Wisconsin, USA. Described by the late Reg Sweet in his book Natal 100 as “an admirable all-round footballer of exceptional versatility”, Gawie was regularly utilised at centre for Natal in 1982, but injury saw him sit out the entire 1983 season. It was in 1984, though, that Gawie Visagie would immortalise himself in the annals of Natal rugby. Back in his familiar No 9 jumper, Gawie was one of the standout performers as Natal proceeded to top the table in the B Section of the Currie Cup that year. But, then, following the shattering loss to Northern Free State in the promotion-relegation match in Welkom, and a spate of injuries to the frontline flyhalves, Gawie was shifted to No 10, with the young Craig Jamieson coming in at scrumhalf. And, Gawie delivered like an old pro in the stand-off slot, calling the shots in sensational fashion as “lowly” Natal blitzed the high-riding Free State 26-15 and by four tries to one in the 1984 Currie Cup semi-final. He followed that up with another supreme show of skill in the subsequent Currie Cup Final against defending champions Western Province. Gawie had nailed a couple of prodigious pot-shots in the first half for Natal to lead, against all odds, 9-3 at the break, silencing the 50,000-strong Newlands faithful, before the powerhouse Province pack managed to attain enough ascendancy in the second stanza to eventually see off Wynand Claassen’s courageous charges 19-9. Gawie Visagie was certainly one of the most gifted exponents of Natal rugby in the pre-professional era, and, quite frankly, probably never fully realised his awesome potential. Moreover, the “Red Boss”, aka “Gavin Visage”, was one of the true characters of the game, eternally jolly and always keen for a quick quip. Our heartfelt condolences and prayers go out to Janet, Morné, Jayde, “Oom” Piet and the rest of the family
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 06:39:09 +0000
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