Player Profiles - Braam Van Straaten
By Mally (on 15/07/02)
July 15 2002
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Braam Van Straaten
With 132 points for Tykes
last season, 221 Test points for South Africa, 54 for the
Barbarians, and a massive 496 points in the Super 12, the vast
majority of which coming from his boot, it would be easy to
dismiss Braam Van Straaten simply as a goal-kicking points machine.
However as Tykes fans have discovered there is a lot more to Mr
Abraham Johannes Jacobus Van Straaten. The
South African RFU
website player profile describes Braam as both "a reliable goal-kicking ace" and as "a
highly physical fly-half - mixing hard driving with defence",
a description which he has lived up to from his very first match
for Tykes. Despite
only joining the Tykes in December 2001 (after winning the Currie
Cup with Western Province) Van Straaten played a large part in the
Tykes debut Premiership season. His accuracy with the boot meant
that opposition teams became wary of giving away penalties,
and he soon proved to the Tykes' fans that Newcastle's Jonny
Wilkinson is not the only hard tackling fly-half in the
Premiership. "Boot
like a rocket launcher... a natural flyhalf...biggest contribution
to the team is (his) defensive coordination of the backs... huge
tackler..." (Rtr) "Takes
the hits and gets up. I have enjoyed seeing him in Tykes colours
and wearing our socks for the BaBas." (Oopnorth) Fans
admire not only Braam's "good rugby brain" (15UP) but
also the fact the Braam proved to be a man of his word, and
joining Leeds Tykes as he promised, declining a new contract with
the Springboks. "Had
I gone back on my word no European club would have been prepared
to look at a South African player again." (BVS in Rugby News
(Nov 2001). Braam
Van Straaten - "fine kicker" (Oopnorth), "natural
fly-half" (Rtr), "clearly a man of his word" (15UP)
and yes, as Timofe points out he won "the Battle of the Boot
against some bloke from Newcastle"....
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