We have been in conditioning training for the Springbok squad for the last 4 weeks and we will be doing tests next week in Cape Town to see if we have all followed our programs that we were given as all programs was individually made for every player to work on our weaknesses.

Talking about my injury all has healed well and I am ready to play any game I can the best I can play and  it looks like we will be able to play next week, straight back into action against WP.

The Sharks are really playing great rugby at the moment some players are really putting their hands up for bigger honours.  We are still top of the log but that counts for nothing, you only win the Currie Cup in October, so for the Sharks we have to play our best rugby over the next 4 weeks.

I hope you have all seen the advert on TV Supersport during the Tri-Nations games.  If only I can tell you how many people have walked past me everywhere I go and just say  -  ‘ Pump pump pump pump by die Dam’ so for me I think Grundfos has got good recognition through this ad.

The farm is doing well the cows started calving from September so it’s been really busy for everyone, just checking and keeping in touch with the everyday operation of the farm and there are no complications in this department.

We also started ripping the fields for the summer crops but look let me tell you it’s been really dry and it’s just dust everywhere so we are all praying for the rains to come, as they say Water is life, this you can see when you are on the farm after                                                                                                                              one rain storm, the whole farm changes to green fields rather than dusty brown ugly fields.

We are also looking where the best place will be to put a new solar pump on the farm to replace one of the windmills and this will help the workers to have clean and fresh water for their families as well as being less maintenance and using renewable energy.  This will be new age technology taking the farm into the next era – really exciting happening for us.

We are also going to do a trial test run for Grundfos on new technology and a CR Flex which is the well known CR pump but driven by solar.  This model will only be available in 2011 for customers and the one on our farm will be one out of 5 installations in SA who will do this testing.  Grundfos have told me this is a really good because now they will be able to offer pumps for many more applications other than borehole pumps driven by solar panels, so please keep in contact on the blog and once we have it installed and everything is running smoothly I could be contacting you to stop by the farm and check how it works.

The way I am feeling now, I can play against the Pumas this Friday already. The Sharks really played like I have not seen them play in a very long time. They killed the Bulls in all aspects of the game line-outs, scrum and if you look closely they should have scored 5 more tries than what they did.

We all had a great time at the Breakfast in Sandton 2 weeks ago with a great crowd of Grundfos staff and customers at the launch of the flighting of the TV advert, “Pump by die dam pump. Pump, pump”, on Super Sport 1. Sadly just like last week I was wrong with my prediction and the score was way off. The first game I said the Boks would win by 7 points and last week Boks to win by 4 or less. Hopefully this week I have it spot on and the Boks win by 4.

I am so happy that my best friend Ryan Kankowski has been given a position on the Springbok squad. Ruan and I have been old school mates since 1997 and we started playing rugby together back then and now even more that he is playing his best position #9. Ruan is best at scrumhalf.

Looking at the farm, I have not been there in 5 weeks so have been managing it through my farm manager which is tough because I like to be there and see for myself but sometimes these things cannot be. We will start to harvest the maize this week so all the hard work is going to be put to the test when we see the tonnage yield per hectare that we planted it will be exciting to see the end result. I will keep you posted on this.

We started our own feedlot on the farm last month as the price of the maize is low currently and we can generate more money by using it through our own cattle and sheep.

The new bulls that I spoke about in my previous blog have settled down very well and have integrated with the older ones very well, we will only start using them in October and November this year.

I must add I was so excited when Jannie scored the other day I am sure people heard me shout in Pietermaritzburg, it was fantastic.

Well I am off to train again to be fit and ready to play as soon as I can. I look forward to meeting with some of you at one of the future Grundfos functions or customer events.

It has been one of my best memories that I have of the 2010 World Cup, when I  had the privilege to attend the opening game at Soccer City on the 11 June. It felt like I was on top of the world looking down on our country and it made me so proud to be a South African by birth, nothing can change that and no matter what sport you play in this country the people are so passionate about sport, it is always a pleasure to play in front of them, be it here in South Africa on home ground or overseas.

I know how important it is as a sportsman to have your whole country behind you with all their support to win the game and to carry you over that all important winning line or to score the goal that can make the big difference to your team and the country.

Let’s not even speak about the game between France and South Africa where we beat the French 2-1, who in 2002 were the World Cup winners. It is a pity they cannot proceed to the next round but the country still believe in them which is great because as sportsmen this is important.

Since my operation on my neck I have been training really hard and for the past 3 weeks I started benching on 50kg but in the last week I moved up to about 115kg which is a big improvement, so at least there is a light at the end of the dark tunnel I have been in.

My first running session two weeks ago was a rude awakening for me, as our Bioceneticist did 24 *100m in under 18sec per 100m and for me not running for 5 weeks it was a new feeling to wake up stiff and sore but a feeling I do miss a lot because it is how you feel every Sunday morning when going to church after a really good game on the Saturday before.

I was on the farm last weekend and like all people I hate winter where everything is dead and brown. Looking at the bigger picture, the sooner it gets cold the sooner we will have summer again and it will be time to prepare for planting and calving season.   I did manage to buy some new bulls for the farm.

On Wednesday last week it was about minus 10^C in Bethlehem and yes you guessed it   all the pipes in the house were frozen and around 11am the next morning we had water running from the ceilings, so like all other farmers in South Africa I had to do some repair work around the farm, it’s not always just about the animals and crops but the general repair work around the house as well.

If all goes according to plan and no other small hiccups come up I will be fit to play by the 1^st of August 2010 which is what I am aiming for and training hard for.

Late in 2009 Grundfos started discussions with Bismarck du Plessis, Springbok hooker and Sharks player. In the early months of 2010 Bismarck came on board with Grundfos and is now our brand personality for the Agricultural product range of Grundfos.

Grundfos wanted a personality that is recognizable to all South Africans but more important we wanted a Farmer who understands the need for a quality and reliable products on a farm as well as someone that can relate to the man on the street – the farmer. Bismarck is a farmer who plays rugby and not as most would assume a rugby player that farms, he is also like most people that grew up on a farm fluent in an African language making it easy for him to communicate to most people in our rainbow nation.

Grundfos also wanted to work with someone where the chemistry was right between both parties and more importantly that it is a fun experience focused to the right market.

Bismarck often attends farmers days, company functions and promotions along with Grundfos so that he can be more in touch with the farmer, but also giving the farmer access to a rugby player/farmer. When he attends company events he is happy to sign customers tee shirts etc but to stand and chat with the farmers as well because like most farmers he is keen to learn from others and how their farms operate and the experience they  have and want share with him, and of course to talk rugby which normally comes up in a discussion.

Grundfos and the Bismarck campaign saw the first flighting of our TV advert on Super Sport 1 on the 10 July 2010, which was the kick off not only for the 2010 Tri-Nations series but also our Ag Campaign. Going forward you will see at your local co-op or irrigation supplier full size cut outs of Bismarck, some keen prices and maybe even Bismarck in person.