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John Philip "Bakkies" Botha, usually referred to by his nickname (born 22 September 1979 in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal Province) is a South African rugby union footballer who plays lock for the South African national rugby team, the Springboks. He also plays for the Blue Bulls provincial team in the Currie Cup competition and for the Bulls Super 14 team.
Botha played for the under-19 and under-23 Springbok sides before being chosen for the South African "A" team that toured Europe at the end of 2001. The following year he was selected for the Springbok team and made his debut against France in Marseille on 9th September 2002, a game the Springboks went on to lose 30-10.
Through the years a formidable partnership has formed between Botha and Blue Bulls teammate Victor Matfield. Together they have an unparalleled ability to disrupt opposition line-outs and get possession of the ball at critical times during matches.
Botha is known as one of the most uncompromising locks in world rugby and has been accused of foul play (including eye gouging and biting) at various times throughout his career, most notably under ex South African coach Rudolph Straeuli. In fact, in his first four Test starts, he received a sin-binning, a disciplinary citing not related to the sin-binning, and an eight-week ban.[1] Since 2004 under new coach Jake White his controversial days seem to be a thing of the past. He led the Bulls out to their 2006 Super 14 semi-final against the Crusaders for his 50th game.
In September 2006, media reports emerged in South Africa that Botha had been offered two million rand (roughly 275,000 US dollars) a year to sign a new deal with the Sharks, which would make him the highest-paid player in South African rugby.[2]
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