Scrumming down with...Ashwin Willemse
Former Lions and Springbok winger Ashwin Willemse has become what many consider to be an authority on the game of rugby and graces the screens as a rugby analyst on SuperSport.
As a player and pundit, he has seen the evolution of the Southern Hemisphere's premier rugby competition from Super 10 status to its current 18-team format.
He made his entry into the game when it was Super 12 with the Cats, a franchise which combined the Lions in Johannesburg and the Bloemfontein-based Cheetahs.
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Trevor Cramer put on his rugby gear and went into a huddle with Willemse, taking him on a retro journey to share his lingering memories as a Super Rugby fan, then player for the Cats/Lions, the evolution of the competition and continuing to live his passion every day well beyond his playing days.
Willemse shares how the young Stormers fan from Caledon in the Western Cape ended up having to play against the team he loved, encountering legends of the game whom he idolised on the same playing field and the constant quest by Super Rugby teams to devise new strategies, be more innovative and creative to keep pace with the increasing demands of modern professional rugby.
Willemse even ventures a bold prediction as to which South African team he thinks will come up trumps in this year's Super Rugby shootout -- and contrary to what we may think - It's not the Lions.