Room 101: Stefan Liebenberg – Cambridge scrum-half

1. The dive pass
As a scrum-half myself I cannot understand why some nines still perform the dive pass. For one, it isn’t as quick as a conventional pass because the surface doesn’t act as a springboard. Plus, it takes you out of the game for longer as you have to get yourself off the floor to get to the next ruck. When you consider a scrum-half might make an average of 50-60 passes a game, that extra time adds up over the course of a match. I’ll make an exemption, however, for my fellow South African Joost van der Westhuizen, who used to practice the dive pass but could get away with it because he was one of the best scrum-halves in the world.
TRP verdict: Take a bow, not a dive, this is going in Room 101 – even though the thought of Dewi Morris flinging himself to the floor does make me feel all nostalgic.
2. Overpaid footballers
I despise football, full-stop. The salaries footballers get are completely ridiculous and beyond any form of justification. In South Africa, people play rugby for the love of the game but with football it just seems to be about how much money people can make.
TRP verdict: That’s a (g)rand answer. You’ve pocketed another yes from us.
3. Noisy newcomers
New players who come to a club and immediately throw their weight around and try to impose themselves on the group really get my back up. In my opinion, you need to earn respect from your team-mates by your deeds on the pitch over a period of time before you can shoot your mouth off. Thankfully, the culture of the rugby dressing room is such that these types of people quickly get shot down and put in their place.
TRP verdict: That’s another good shout out Stef, you’re in again.