Wessels and Rice riding into the sunset to new careers (25 March 1999)

25 March 1999

Wessels and Rice riding into the sunset to new careers

Trevor Chesterfield

KIMBERLEY (South Africa) - In his day Kepler Wessels has had any number of unkind label attachments foisted on him, some by design some by an unthinking public. Much the same could be said about Clive Rice.

Both rubbed shoulders with controversy; some of which was a carefully cultivated image in an era of isolation with comments made to stir the public demand and interest in a sport where, the stain of rebel tours apart, there was no international outlet.

Rice's "veldskoen and biltong brigade" (leather slippers and dried meat) comment when as Transvaal captain he led a powerful side against neighbours Northern Transvaal at Berea Park, drew headlines, leader page comment and even criticism from an Afrikaans community. They were unaware of the warrior image of a man who knew how to get the crowds into the game.

You did not need marketing ploys in those days to get spectators through the gate.

Just ask Ricey to make a comment and you had a ready made vehicle. Likewise Wessels, the player with an Afrikaans background, as tough as nails and attitude which underlined a burning ambition.

Kerry Packer arrived and both Wessels and Rice were offered playing jobs and took their talents in search of better rewards and playing conditions.

Yet South Africa's problems loomed and when they settled back into the routine, the two men, so diverse in background and thinking, put their energies into restructuring the game the way they felt would, in the long term would be of benefit to the country.

Perhaps Rice's aura came because he stayed behind and, Packer apart, did not seek another country for whom to play tests, as did Wessels. Even Peter Kirsten admitted he had given some thought to the idea of settling in Australia to earn a Test cap.

No one could blame him. Allan Lamb, Tony Grieg and the Smith brothers Kippy and Robin, had taken the route of Wessels, but this time went to England.

Now Wessels is retiring 25 summers after making his debut for Free State against Northerns at the Ramblers; Rice's first-class debut was also against Northerns (then North-Easterns) at Berea Park in 1969/70, the season after which isolation fell, retired some summers ago.

For Wessels there is one more game, a Standard Bank Cup final and then it is over. Ironically it could be against Free State, in Bloemfontein, where his career began.

But the two men hold a special place in the modern game in South Africa which goes far beyond their playing contribution. It was Rice who encouraged a generation of youngsters in the 1980s to keep faith by playing the game for better rewards, and later became the first captain of a modern South Africa side. He will long be remembered as Rice the player not the coach or director of the national academy who has new challenges with the English county Nottinghamshire, where his captaincy role was legendary.

It was Wessels who took over from Rice as the South African captain and led the side with distinction and firmness in the first years of growth in the post-isolation era. It was the Wessels toughness and fitness strategy which did much to help South Africa ease into a tough competitive international scene. It was this professional approach, not often seen by the public, became the hallmark of his tenure as national captain.

Rice may have had more flair, but his toughness and professionalism was just as uncompromising. It showed when he captained Nottinghamshire in the 1980s and left an indelible impression on a county which has asked him to oversee their restructuring into the early years of the millennium.

Wessels will no doubt have another role to play in shaping the players of the future; he steps down leaving a legacy which is rich and far too valuable to be ignored.

It is hard to imagine where South Africa would have been today had they not players of their capabilities when the country re-emerged in the tumultuous early years of this decade. Hopefully their rewards will be many.

Source :: Trevor Chesterfield, Pretoria News