MICHAEL CLAASSENS
FORMER SOUTH AFRICA, CHEETAHS, BATH, TOULON AND SHARKS SCRUM-HALF
LIKE most kids in South Africa I grew up wanting to be a professional rugby player. When that happens and you’re in the moment, you just accept it as the norm and it’s only when you hang up your boots that it really sinks in what a privilege it is to play for your country and be paid to do something you love at home and overseas over such a long career.
I got a bursary to study in Bloemfontein and then, I started playing for the Free State Cheetahs in 2003. The Currie Cup was such a big competiti...