Zebra

Ziphezinhle Msimango recently conducted a Q&A-style interview with Ryk Neethling, one of South Africa’s sporting gems and the subject of Clinton van der Berg’s Chasing the Dream. The picture that emerges is quite different from the sportsman’s public image: Neethling refers to himself as a hard-working Afrikaans boy who enjoys spending time with his friends.

If your house caught fire what would you save? I’ve been burgled so many times that most of my things have been stolen. I’m not precious about stuff, but I would save my autographed copy of Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom.

What are your creature comforts? My heated pool. In winter it’s nice to see steam coming from the pool when it’s freezing outside.

• Complete article at Times Live

Book details

• Chasing the Dream by Clinton van der Berg
  EAN: 9781770220300
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

Lately rugby player Joost van der Westhuizen’s sterling rugby record has been eclipsed by his personal tribulations off the field – many of which are discussed in his biography, Joost: The Man in the Mirror / Spieëlbeeld. However, the fact remains that in his day he was one of the Springboks’ finest assets. SA Rugby magazine is currently doing a count down of players they deem to be the 50 best since the bokkes’ re-admission into international rugby, and Joost ranks fifteenth:

Joost van der Westhuizen is widely regarded as one of the greatest scrumhalves of all-time. He played 89 Tests, making him the fourth most capped Springbok in history, and captained South Africa on 10 occasions.

He scored 38 tries in his Test career, making him the top try-scorer in Springbok history as well as the most prolific try-scoring Test scrumhalf of all-time. He formed a Springbok record and legendary halfback combination with Henry Honiball, was an integral member of the 1995 World Cup and 1998 Tri-Nations winning squads and was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame in 2007.

• Read the complete article

Book details

• Joost: Spieëlbeeld by David Gemmell
  EAN: 9781770220782
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

• Joost: The Man in the Mirror by David Gemmell
  EAN: 9781770220737
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

Ryk Neethling first garnered attention as a magnificent swimmer, a fact which has since been partially eclipsed by his stunningly good looks. While Clinton van der Berg’s biography, Ryk Neethling: Chasing the Dream, reveals Neethling as a determined young swimmer who fought incredible odds to be where he is today, Heat Magazine reveals him to be The Hottest Celeb – even hotter than Brad Pitt.

South Africa’s Olympic swimming icon Ryk Neethling has beaten Hollywood star Brad Pitt to be voted the hottest celebrity on the planet by heat magazine.

More than a quarter of a million votes ensured that Neethling became the first person to win the title back-to-back in its six-year history

• Read the complete article

Book details

• Chasing the Dream by Ryk Neethling
  EAN: 9781770220300
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

Amor Vittone is die afgelope tyd deur diep waters. Na die publiseering van Joost van der Westhuizen se boek: Joost: Spieelbeel / Joost: The Man in the Mirror, het die stormwolke behoorlik losgebars. Sarie praat met Amor oor die huidige troebel toestand maar ook oor wat die toekoms inhou.

Hoe sien sy haar toekoms en wat van die bewerings oor ander minaresse? Hieroor praat Amor Vittone openhartig in Desember se SARIE. Dié uitgawe is van Vry 6 Nov in die Kaap te kry en vanaf Maandag 9 Nov landwyd.

‘n Uittreksel uit die artikel:

“Kan jy nie sien ek het oud geword nie?” vra sy.

“Dit voel vir my asof ek in die laaste jaar tien jaar ouer geword het. Of dalk het ek volwasse geword. Ek het so baie dinge geleer. Ek moes leer wie om te vertrou. Ek sien die lewe vanuit ’n ander oogpunt. Ek is meer sinies, hoewel ek nie my vertroue en my hoop in die lewe verloor het nie. Hopelik maak dit alles van my ’n beter mens.

• Lees verder

Boelbesonderhede

• Joost: Spieëlbeeld deur David Gemmell
  EAN: 9781770220782
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

• Joost: The Man in the Mirror by David Gemmell
  EAN: 9781770220737
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

Foto te dank aan WhosWho

True to his word, Joost van der Westhuizen appeared at two CNA stores in Gauteng to sign books. The Pretoria News caught up with him at the Menyln Park branch:

Marinus Pretorius, 20, said he could not wait to start reading Van der Westhuizen’s biography, Joost, The Man in the Mirror. “My father is reading it at the moment, but as soon as he puts it down, I am grabbing it.”
 
Pretorius said no matter what Van der Westhuizen had done, he still remained his loyal fan.

“Joost has been my hero since I was 12. I never liked rugby, but he made me love the sport. I cannot tell you why I like him. I just like him. It’s like Naas (Botha). I simply just like them.”

• Complete article in the Pretoria News (subscribers only)

Book details

• Joost: The Man in the Mirror by David Gemmell
  EAN: 9781770220737
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

• Joost: Spieëlbeeld by David Gemmell
  EAN: 9781770220782
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

Afrikaans readers eager to get their hands on a copy of Joost van der Westhuizen’s biography won’t have to wait long, as reported on Friday (along with snippets of Joost’s conversation with 3 Talk host Noeleen Maholwana-Sangqu):

On Friday, Zebra Press publisher Marlene Fryer said the Afrikaans version, Spieëlbeeld, should be in stores by Wednesday.

In the book, the disgraced former Springbok captain comes clean about his involvement in a sex and drugs video exposed eight months ago.

In the video, Van der Westhuizen is seen naked as stripper Marilize van Emmenis performs oral sex on him and later snorts white powder with him.

• Complete article at IOL Tonight

Meanwhile, The Weekender ran a long Lauren de Beer feature on the book and its revelations in its final edition:

WHILE all eyes were on Loftus last Saturday as the Blue Bulls claimed their 23rd Currie Cup , on Sunday the focus was on one of the team’s erstwhile favourite sons as he spent the day explaining himself at the launch of his book, Joost: The Man in the Mirror. Spoiler alert: the handful of people who thought the man in the video wasn’t Joost van der Westhuizen, look away now.

The overwhelming majority of South Africans who never doubted that the former Springbok captain was indeed the Casanova snorting white powder and indulging in slap ’n tickle while wearing socks and less-than-pristine underpants should read on.

A week after the release of his biography — the first print run was sold out in a day — the news has spread faster than a Mexican wave at a rugby match that the most prolific try-scoring Test scrumhalf of all time is guilty as charged. At the beginning of the book, Van der Westhuizen promises to tell his biographer, David Gemmell, “stuff that will make your eyes water. With regard to the video — that will be in the last chapter, and it is going to blow everyone’s socks off.”

Since the innovatively named “Joostgate” scandal broke in February, Van der Westhuizen has denied his assignation with the buxom blond subsequently revealed as Teazers employee and self-confessed Sharks supporter Marlize van Emmenis.

But he found the strain of living a lie taking its toll, to the point that he collapsed in June while entertaining at his Dainfern home. He owes his life to a quick-acting guest who administered CPR.

• Complete article in The Weekender

Book details

• Joost: Spieëlbeeld deur David Gemmell
  EAN: 9781770220782
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

• Joost: The Man in the Mirror by David Gemmell
  EAN: 9781770220737
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

Wednesday night, fans of the Afrikaans television programme Kwêla had the opportunity to watch to the first interview with former Springbok captain Joost van der Westhuizen since the release of Joost: The Man in the Mirror / Joost: Spieëlbeeld – the biography that has given the sport star and his family such a tumultuous time this week.

Van der Westhuizen chatted to presenter Coenie de Villiers about his apology to the nation, the public’s response and his feelings about the media. The interview is in Afrikaans:

• Watch Joost on Kwêla

A few days before Joost’s emotional conversation with de Villiers, his wife, Amor Vittone, was hosted for a lengthy interview on Jacaranda FM’s “Just Plain Breakfast” show. The two-hour-long, tearful conversation (in English) was made available in a series of podcasts. Unfortunately the interviews have been removed from the site. We did however manage to track down two short snippets for you:

• Amor speaks out about divorce and the support of her family

• Amor tells her side of the story

The original page does still display several pics of Amor taken during the interview:

• Amor visits Jacaranda FM

Finally, Amor also had a stint on Kwêla with de Villiers. Watch their video:

• A second Joost/Kwêla video

Book details

• Joost: The Man in the Mirror by David Gemmell
  EAN: 9781770220737
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

• Joost: Spieëlbeeld by David Gemmell
  EAN: 9781770220782
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

Photo courtesy Kwêla and Jacaranda

This extract from Joost: The Man in the Mirror appears at today’s M&G Online. It’s an open letter to South Africans asking for forgiveness:

“In my life, I have achieved many things that took a lot of guts, determination and self-belief, I have sometimes faltered, but I have never really been scared, or doubted not making it through to the end. Perhaps that is why I actually enjoyed Kamp Staaldraad. I knew they couldn’t break me.

But just when I thought life had got easier and that never again would I have to be as strong as I had been, I was confronted with something far more terrifying than anything I could ever have imagined. I came face to face with my own human frailty and my conscience. I have found that when you yourself are the problem, there is nowhere to hide. And I’ve tried to hide.

• Complete letter at the M&G Online
• Share your thoughts on Joost van der Westhuizen and you could win a signed copy of the book
• More Joost links

Book details

• Joost: The Man in the Mirror by David Gemmell
  EAN: 9781770220737
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

• Joost: Spieëlbeeld by David Gemmell
  EAN: 9781770220782
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

Tiki Dickson, co-author of Talking Balls: A Collection of Light-Hearted Writings about Sport, introduced the book humourously at its launch earlier this week – a crowded event hosted by BookWorld in Pietermaritzburg – saying that she and John Bishop wrote it so that its profits could pay for John’s daughter’s wedding next year. Returning to a sporting theme, she averred that it was up to the readers to decide if the authors “should be red-carded, or awarded the try”.

Andy Capostagno, the well-known sports journalist and a contributor to the book, carried on with the puns where Dickson left off, riffing on the book’s title, saying that if had just been about rugby it would have been called “funny-shaped balls” – and if it were about running, “powdered balls”.

The book includes pieces not just by professional journalists and writers like Capostagno, but also by a few enthusiastic amateurs, many of whom were in the audience on the night. It does not claim to be comprehensive or representative in any respect; as its title suggests, it is a carefully-chosen sampling from the lighter side of sports writing.

Taking over from Capostagno, co-author John Bishop thanked his book club, which he called his “sounding board”, and commended his book to them with a wink. He also mentioned his indebtedness to Dickson, who was the “driving force” behind getting the book into print. Bishop was well-supported at the launch by his colleagues from the Witness (he has worked there as Sports Editor for 35 years). The mood at the gathering was cheerful, and many copies of the book were sold, hopefully setting the trend for times to come – and contributing to the defrayment of those wedding costs!

Gallery

Book details

• Talking Balls: A Collection of Light-Hearted Writings About Sport by John Bishop, Tiki Dickson
  EAN: 9781770220683
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

As reported yesterday, Joost van der Westhuizen’s biography, The Man in the Mirror / Spieëlbeeld, sold out the day it was released. Here’s a summary of the links that drove the controversial book to its number one position – plus reports of fresh revelations from this morning – starting with the Sunday Times book excerpt that triggered the media frenzy:

The Springbok Rugby Legends organisation appointed Joost to be a celebrity host in the Virgin Atlantic box at Loftus Versfeld for the second test against the British & Irish Lions on June 27 2009.

Joost mentions that he had noticed from the Wednesday prior to the Test how he had continually felt tired and was very short-tempered with everyone, including, most unusually, his children.

He also claims not to have been sleeping properly the previous couple of months.

Being grumpy and short-tempered, he wasn’t really looking forward to hosting a bunch of Englishmen.

But, as it turned out, he found the Poms surprisingly good company.

Because he was on duty, he practised his old habit of opening his own beers and keeping the tops in his pocket so that he could tell how many he had drunk at a moment’s notice.

“Despite being in the suite virtually the whole day,” he says, “When I left Loftus I had three bottle tops in my pocket. I knew I had a meeting at home, and because I was actually working – and I suppose because I wasn’t feeling particularly great – I had carefully paced myself.”

• Read the complete excerpt in the Sunday Times
• Share your thoughts on Joost van der Westhuizen and you could win a signed copy of the book

The newspaper has since run several further stories on the Joost saga:

Former athlete admits to affair with Joost Former South African athlete Charmaine Weavers (Gale) has admitted to having an affair with former Springbok star Joost Van der Westhuizen, according to the Beeld newspaper. Keep reading.

Joost: I could lose Amor Disgraced former Springbok star Joost van der Westhuizen says he could still lose his wife Amor and his family in the wake of the infamous sex tape scandal. Keep reading.

Amor weeps on air over Joost revelations Amor Vittone wept on radio this morning as she spoke about her husband former Springbok captain Joost van der Westhuizen’s infidelity for the first time. Keep reading.

The Mail & Guardian’s Chris Roper weighed in with two satirical columns:

Joost is Hansie-lite Yawn. I didn’t see this one coming. Ex-Bok scrumhalf and renowned Cat-lover Joost van der Westhuizen has written a book called Spieelbeeld (in English, Mirrorballs), and suddenly he’s moved to confess that it was in fact him in that video that everyone’s forgotten about by now. Keep reading.

Jackie Selebi and Joost: The untold story It can’t be too long until Jackie Selebi and Glenn Agliotti are referred to as the Joost and Amor of the criminal world, in the same way that the latter couple are yearningly known as the Becks and Posh of South Africa by the poor unfortunate mutts condemned to write about SA celebs. Keep reading.

The Independent Group covered the story extensively, with videos:

Joost’s stripper was not the first – report Beeld has reported that former Springbok captain Joost van der Westhuizen cheated on his wife, Amor Vittone, with former Springbok athlete Charmaine Weavers, formerly Gale. Keep reading.

Joost: Why I lied Former Bok says he was confused Embattled former Springbok scrumhalf Joost van der Westhuizen says he lied about appearing in a sex tape and taking drugs because he was scared and confused. Keep reading.

I could lose my family, says Joost Not only has he admitted it, but he has also written about it in his tell-all book Man In The Mirror, which hit bookstores on Monday. Van der Westhuizen’s shock revelation to the biographer, David Gemmell, came out of the blue. It was not until the final chapter that the truth, that he was the man in the video, was revealed. Keep reading.

Here are further links from around the Afrikaans media world:

‘Hy moes dadelik net alles erken het’ Die sangeres Amor Vittone sê haar hart is “uitgeruk” en dit voel of haar “laaste bietjie energie” weg is. Lees verder in Beeld.

Joost: Dit was ’n web van leuens Omtrent alles wat van sy kant oor die omstrede Joost-seksvideo aan die publiek en die media opgedis is, was “ ’n konkoksie van leuens”, het die oudrugbyspeler Joost van der Westhuizen gister gesê. Lees verder in Die Burger.

Atleet bieg oor Joost Joost van der Westhuizen het sy vrou, Amor Vittone, ook met die oud-Bok-atleet Charmaine Weavers (Gale) verkul. Lees verder in Beeld.

Joost bieg oor seksvideo “Dis ek in die seks-video. En ek is bitter, bitter jammer dat ek gelieg het. Asseblief, vergewe my.” Lees verder in Rapport.

Book details

• Joost: The Man in the Mirror by David Gemmell
  EAN: 9781770220737
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

• Joost: Spieëlbeeld by David Gemmell
  EAN: 9781770220782
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!