Danie Gerber Explained

Danie Gerber
Birth Name:	Daniël Mattheus Gerber
Birth Date:	14 April 1958
Birth Place:	Port Elizabeth, Cape Province Union of South Africa (now Eastern Cape)
Height:	1.830NaN0
Weight:	91kg (201lb)
Ru Position:	Centre
Ru Province:	Eastern Province Western Province Free State
Ru Provincecaps:	115 40 24
Ru Provinceupdate:	2007-10-31
Ru Nationalteam:	South Africa
Ru Nationalyears:	1980 - 1992
Ru Nationalcaps:	24
Ru Nationalpoints:	(82)
Ru Ntupdate:	2007-10-31

Daniël Mattheus Gerber (born 14 April 1958) is a South African former rugby union player who played for South Africa between 1980 and 1992. He played mainly at inside or outside centre, but also on the wing.

His international career was severely limited because of South Africa's sporting isolation caused by apartheid.^[1] He won only 24 caps for South Africa (scoring 19 tries^[2]), despite playing internationally for 12 years. Despite this, he was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame in 2007.^[3]

Early life

Gerber initially played football and cricket at school level, but accelerated quickly when starting rugby, playing for SA schools.^[4]

Rugby career

In South African domestic rugby Gerber played 115 games for Eastern Province, 40 for Western Province and 24 for Orange Free State.

Gerber's international career of games played and points scored:

• In 1980, he played two tests against the South American Jaguars (a team mainly made up of Argentine players but also included a few Uruguayan, Chilean, Paraguayan and Brazilian players) in Montevideo and Santiago.^[5] He scored a try in each test. He also played one test against France in Pretoria without scoring any points, and one other test that year.
• In 1981, he played two tests against Ireland in Cape Town (scoring two tries) and in Durban without scoring points. He also went on the controversial 1981 Springbok Tour of New Zealand, playing in all three tests, (Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland) without scoring any points. The infamous tour was lost by the Springboks due to a controversial penalty by the referee four minutes into injury time in the final test. (Ray Mordt scored three tries in the final test of the series.) He also played the final test of 1981 against the USA in Glenville, without scoring any points.
• In 1982, he played two tests against the South American Jaguars (again, mainly made up of Argentine players but also included a few Uruguayan, Chilean, Paraguayan and Brazilian players) scoring three tries in Pretoria and one in Bloemfontein.
• In 1984, he played two tests against England, scoring one try in his hometown, Port Elizabeth and three in Johannesburg. In this series, Gerber played outside South Africa's first ever Black player, Errol Tobias,^[6] in the series, and scored three tries in the second Test.^[7] Again the South American Jaguars toured South Africa and Gerber scored one try and one conversion in Pretoria and one try in Cape Town.
• In 1986, the New Zealand Cavaliers (a rebel tour conducted against the wishes of the NZ Rugby Union) toured South Africa, Gerber played in all four 'test' fixtures in Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria and Johannesburg and only managed one try in the Pretoria game.
• In 1992, after a long period of South African rugby isolation, Gerber played his final five test matches vs: New Zealand in Johannesburg scoring two tries, Australia in Cape Town without scoring any points, France in Lyon and Parc des Princes scoring one try in each match. His final test was against England in Twickenham which went without scoring any points.

Test history

Gerber scored 19 tries in 24 internationals,^[8] a very high strike rate for a centre.

Style of play

Gerber had very high acceleration and pace, could sidestep off either foot, break tackles,^[9] had a clear vision of space on the field, and high ball skill levels (catching, passing and kicking). He was also very solid in defence.^[10]

Gerber attributed his sidestep to his early football. He trained extensively (particularly running, but also swimming, circuit training and weights) and had a high fitness level, which were unusual attributes before rugby went professional.^{[11] [12]}

Legacy

Gerber has been described as one of the greatest ever rugby centres.^{[13] [14]} He has been named South Africa's greatest ever centre,^{[15] [16]} and Naas Botha has said he is one of the greatest ever South African rugby players.^[17] Martin Johnson named him in his International Rugby Hall of Fame member's XV, and Bill McLaren's named him in his 'all time' XV.^{[18] [19] [20]}

Personal life

Gerber is married to Elsabe.

In 2002, he had heart surgery, and his family have a pattern of high cholesterol.^[21]

See also

• List of South Africa national rugby union players – Springbok no. 514
• SA Rugby Player of the Year - 1984

References

http://www.espnscrum.com/southafrica/rugby/player/9270.html

Notes and References

1. News: GERBER LAMENTS POACHING AND POLITICS . Knowler . Richard . 2 . 16 April 2005 . The Press.
2. Web site: The greatest centres of all time: Danie Gerber. 18 August 2016.
3. Web site: Daniel Gerber . rugbyhalloffame.com . 31 October 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071011040847/http://www.rugbyhalloffame.com/pages/gerber2007.htm . 11 October 2007 .
4. live . https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/MZGcJbodgQQ . 2021-12-11. In Conversation with Danie Gerber . YouTube.
5. Web site: Danie Gerber . scrum.com . 31 October 2007.
6. News: Caught in time . timesonline.co.uk . 31 October 2007 . 3 June 2007 . Struthers . Greg . London.
7. News: England the sick men of Africa . The Independent . Hewett . Chris . 31 October 2007 . 27 May 2007.
8. Web site: The greatest centres of all time: Danie Gerber. 18 August 2016.
9. Web site: Daniel Mattheus Gerber.
10. live . https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/MZGcJbodgQQ . 2021-12-11. In Conversation with Danie Gerber . YouTube.
11. Web site: Rugby history top 10: The greatest centres of all time as O'Driscoll and Sella fight for top spot. 29 November 2017.
12. Web site: Daniel Mattheus Gerber.
13. Web site: The greatest centres of all time: Danie Gerber. 18 August 2016.
14. Web site: Great Springbok Tries Series: Danie Gerber vs the All Blacks.
15. Web site: Rugby history top 10: The greatest centres of all time as O'Driscoll and Sella fight for top spot. 29 November 2017.
16. Web site: Selecting the Greatest All-Time South Africa XV. Bleacher Report.
17. Web site: Rugby history top 10: The greatest centres of all time as O'Driscoll and Sella fight for top spot. 29 November 2017.
18. XV refers to the fifteen players on a rugby team.
19. News: Martin Johnson's all-time XV . timesonline.co.uk . 31 October 2007 . 2 August 2007 . London.
20. News: Bill McLaren's World XV . bbc.co.uk . 31 October 2007 . 5 March 2002 .
21. live . https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/MZGcJbodgQQ . 2021-12-11. In Conversation with Danie Gerber . YouTube.