‘We’ve certainly got our money’s worth’ – URC coach hails South African fly-half’s impact

cardiff-head-coach-matt-sherratt-and-tinus-de-beer

Cardiff head coach Matt Sherratt has hailed fly-half Tinus de Beer after his starring role with the Welsh side in his first season.

De Beer joined Cardiff from Currie Cup outfit the Pumas and has made an immediate impact at the club, missing just 82 minutes of their United Rugby Championship (URC) campaign – starting all 19 games for them this season.

The fly-half struggled to nail down a spot in a Super Rugby squad during his time in South Africa, playing just a handful of games for the Bulls.

Cardiff get their money’s worth

But Sherratt is pleased by the playmaker’s impact – who ranked amongst the best signing of the season in our Top 20 URC signings of the season – at Cardiff in his debut season.

“We’ve certainly got our money’s worth out of him,” Sherratt told the URC.

“He’s been excellent. What you see in terms of his effort out there is a reflection of what he does in the week.

“He’s been a great addition to the club on and off the pitch.”

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De Beer will tackle his fellow countryman in the next two rounds of the URC as the season draws to a close with away clashes against the Lions and Sharks before concluding their season against Ospreys back at home.

“I think he will be looking forward to that,” said Sherratt.

“He’s probably got a bit of a point to prove out there. He never quite crept into one of the Super Rugby teams.”

Tinus de Beer’s sporting hero

Meanwhile, to coincide with “Kids Round” in the URC, De Beer spoke about his sporting hero when he was growing up.

Some may have guessed the South African fly-half would have said the likes of his namesake Jannie de Beer or perhaps Morne Steyn or Butch James but his hero will surprise some.

“Because of the blond hair, it was probably Johnny Wilkinson,” he reveals.

“He was brilliant in the 2003 World Cup. Blond hair, leftie…I always practiced those drop goals in the back yard.”

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Reflecting back on his early rugby journey, the Pretoria-man added: “I started playing when I was about six years old. My father was my club coach.

“It was basically you get chucked on the field and just run around with the ball.

“I think the first present I got was probably a rugby ball. I just fell in love with the sport from day one.”

Understandably, he was a Bulls fans growing up and one of his earliest memories was going to Loftus Versveld.

“It was the Bulls at the start, they were my home team,” he said. “I used to go to Loftus as a kid to watch. I grew up playing in the back fields there, having a braai outside the stadium and watching the rugby. They are lovely memories.”

Arms Park’s vibe

After coming through the Blue Bulls system, playing for Tuks and representing South Africa at Schools and U20s level, he went on to have spells with the Griquas and Pumas before moving to Wales.

He has loved his time at the Arms Park and particularly likes the way young fans are able to come on the pitch at the end of matches.

“As a kid, you obviously enjoy the game but you can’t wait for the final whistle to go and then it’s your time to get on to the pitch and get some signatures and stuff,” he says.

“So it’s special to see that every time we finish our home games, just to have all those kids on the pitch and take pictures with them and do signatures.

“It meant the world to me back then, so I just know it means a lot to them.”