Well, since the cat is out of the bag a lot sooner than I’d thought, let’s just confirm this one and end all the speculation!
This morning’s Natal Witness has confirmed that former Stormers and Bath hooker Pieter Dixon has signed with the Sharks for the remainder of the Currie Cup season, as cover for injured hookers Bismarck du Plessis and Kyle Cooper, with Craig Burden also unavailable due to Bok commitments.
Dixon was spotted at Sharks training yesterday, where he seemed to be having a look around and perhaps having a medical. He is expected to take full part in training tomorrow and may even feature against the Cheetahs on Saturday.
Dixon is 34 years old (4 whole days younger than yours truly) and attended Maritzburg College before leaving Natal to play in the Cape.
Tweet
Let me be the first to ask…
Who the hell is he????
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 1) : That’s a good question
Let’s hope he can deliver the goods though.
oh nooooooo!what were they thinking
I hope Hadebe still gets picked in the starting line up. I thought he did pretty well in his first start for the Sharks.
People Dixon was schooled at Maritzburg college, played a lot of rugby for WP as he went to study in the Cape before going to Bath.
He is a good experienced hooker and will be a good backup at this stage, Monde is comming along but the lack of experience is getting him into a lot of trouble,
JG and DV going through fitness trial, if fit they will be taken up in the Bok Squad. what message does this send Lambie??,
Been saying this for a while now, HM will make another KAnko out of Lambie
I know it’s unfair on Lambie but a part og me hopes he gets dropped, where he can play for the Sharks and get into his normal great form again, and of course play 1 position being 10
With all due respect to the guy, who has had a long and fairly successful career, I don’t believe this is a good move by the Sharks. If he is there as a back-up to Monde, then fine, but if he starts then it’s sending a bad message to our youngsters again – just like signing MJ previously. The Currie Cup is the perfect place for our fringe players to gain some good experience ahead of next years SR – give them a chance.
@sharks_lover (Comment 6) : I do not believe that DV will be the anser for the boks at this stage. He is a good player but we need more of a playmaker at 8 since we already have 2 work horses at 6 and 7. Kanko would be ideal but this stupid Japan holiday of his is frustrating me.
I also f
@sharks_lover (Comment 6) : I also feel for Lambie. He should have got his chance to show what he can do instead of backing Morne for each and every minute of all the games.
@sharks_lover (Comment 6) : excuse my ignorance SL but who are JG and DV?
@Sharksmad – The Blog’s Dudette (Comment 11) :
Johan Goosen and Duane Vermeulen..
I don’t understand this morse code talking, its just as easy to just say Goosen and Vermeulen, but anyway…..
Okai i have finally woken up
Johan Goosen and Duane I play off the ball Vermeulen 
Another Ruan Pienaar! Well at least we will not have a metronomic moron back from the Boks! Thank God for small mercies!
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 12) : Thank you Richard, I agree though too early to have to try and decipher code
Eish,
talk about code, who is the metronomic moron?
@Salmonoid (Comment 15) :
I think she was referring to Ruan Pienaar perhaps, but it stumped me as well…
@Salmonoid (Comment 15) : My guess is Morne – but he does not play for the Sharks
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 16) : but Ruan is the one player that doesnt have an SA union to go back to. Morne Steyn’s kicking is sometimes called metronomical (Blayden) but his last game neagates that. Help us here Dudette.
@Bokhoring (Comment 17) : Snap, 2 seconds in it.
@Salmonoid (Comment 18) :
My thinking is that Ruan Pienaar would have come back if he was still with the Sharks, but now we are lucky not to get him back…
So many different interpretations….
I wish that we could get Ruan back. He’s matured a lot and looks so much more in control of the game than Hougaard whenever he gets onto the field. Hougaard must shift to wing and stay there!!
Good move this.
We`re desperately thin at hooker right now so we need experienced backup.
Dixon will do!
Pieter Dixon, seriously???
@pierre_mackie (Comment 23) : Hey he might not be John Smit, but he`s more experienced than what we`ve got right now and he`s Available!
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 1) :
Are you being serious?
How old are you bru?
He captained Natal and SA schools in 95 I think.
Played a few seasons for the Stormers back in the Bob Skinstad days.
Has been a Bath stallwart for the remainder of his career.
@pierre_mackie (Comment 23) :
Its just for the rest of the CC. With Bissie, Burden, Cooper out for now I would think he will only play one or 2 games while the Boks are away and then carry tackle bags when Burden and Cooper are back.
Does the hooking basics very well, scrummaging and especially throwing into the lineout.
Something that was sorely lacking from Hadebe on the weekend.
@John Galt (Comment 25) : With all our experienced hookers either on Bok duty or injured I think Dixon could serve as a really good mentor to Hadebe for the remainder of the season.
hehehe!
@John Galt (Comment 25) : @Original Pierre (Comment 24) : @pierre_mackie (Comment 23) : An experienced guy to teach Marais and Hadebe isn’t a bad thing. Hadebe must continue to start but having Pieter around will be awesome.
SA teams must do that more with retired players. Use their skills and experience to upskill the up and coming players. MJ can teach Paul Jordaan running lines etc. even if he can’t still run them effectively himself.
Id take Dixon ahead of Tiaan Liebenberg in the test squad.
@vanmartin (Comment 26) : My thoughts exactly!
@ChrisS (Comment 28) : Well, as the saying goes: “those that can, do – and those that can’t, teach”
@Salmonoid (Comment 29) :
Well in that case I’d take Schalk Brits ahead of Keegan Daniels!
@FireTheLooser (Comment 31) : Too true! We need more teachers
@wpw (Comment 32) : Daniel
@John Galt (Comment 25) :
In 95 I was still in Primary School..
I cant commetn as i have no idea of who dixon is, perhaps before my time
@wpw (Comment 32) : That makes sense, from a WP point of view.
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 35) :
And us oldies must teach you morse code??? 
@Salmonoid (Comment 15) : @Richard Ferguson (Comment 16) : Sorry guys its early in the morning and in a shite long week! I meant Morne Steyn, where all he knows what to do is kick the ball away because the Bok coach’s game plan is to kick the ball and nothing else! What I meant about Ruan is that he starts playing well for the Sharks and the Boks called him up messed him around and sent him back to the Sharks a shadow of the player that had left them to go to Bok camp. That is what I believe is happening to Super Pat!
@Sharksmad – The Blog’s Dudette (Comment 39) : Agree 100% with you,
This is why i said earlier i wish Lambie Daniel and Burden get sent back to the Sharks,
HM will try turning them into Skop and jAg artists and give them splinters in the aSS
@Sharksmad – The Blog’s Dudette (Comment 39) : , I mean all over Blogs which means its a kinda cencus amongst supporters that Lambie is not good enough, many now saying he is useless.
This after being injured most of the season and playing 1 bad game which was the Final.
this includes the way press also thinkbecause they sure as hell aint writing anything positive about patrick.
yet this kid has never had a poor game in a bok Jersey, SO i can tell you PAtrick will become the new kanko in the Bok setup, ??
And when you read most aritcles or blogs you see the view being Kanko wasnt good enough, no where do they admit they Knako actually never ever got a fair chance as did Spies
@ChrisS (Comment 34) :
I know.
Was hoping someone else would point it out… some pedantic old tannie maybe??
@Viking (Comment 9) : Boet, Kanko is sitting in Japan for a reason , He knew after all these years of bench sitting and never getting a chance that with SPies there it was all to be the same, thus he took up another option.
i dont for 1 minute believe HM would have dropped Spies for kanko, thats just talk believe me.
Just as he wont drop Morne for Lambie.
If he had any intention of given Lambie a chance to prove anything he just had 2 perfect games in which to do so, and he did not.
I mean take the first test against the Puma’s, we are far ahead with 20 min to go,?? why not then?? no pressure or anything.
In the 2nd test, Stats show Morne actually ran the ball more, yes he did but how? from what position??? he stands so far back that it was easy for the Puma’s to defend.
Other options he took was inter swapping Fransie with Morne, and the plan was to bash it up,
Serioulsy HM will stuff up Lambies career
@wpw (Comment 42) :
Who are you calling a pendantic tannie??
@sharks_lover (Comment 41) : Yep, Kanko was meant to show what he had in 10 minutes what Anonyspies did in 3500 minutes
@wpw (Comment 42) : oh dear, has today been so bad for you that you have a death wish?
@wpw (Comment 42) : Ice isn’t here so I’m running the name show for a bit
I remember Dixon being a helluva good hooker while with the Stormers… but he had Deon “I can’t throw into a line-out to save myself” Fourie syndrome.
Richard, I’d barely started Primary School in 95
He played for the Stormers right up until 2005. No hair… always wore head gear. Looked rather small for a hooker… Might remember him when you see him.
@hendrikp (Comment 48) : Well Hendrik that shows you how bad Hookers are at Province
, he however didnt struggle in the dept at Bath
Any idea when the Bok squad is being announced for the tour to Oz and New Zealand?
@ChrisS (Comment 50) :
The squad has been announced. An article will be posted very soon!
Thanks for your co-operation!
@wpw (Comment 51) :
Wait for it….
There is going to be an uproar. No Keegan Daniel
Yet Jacques Potgieter retains his place.
@sharks_lover (Comment 43) : stop crying S_L
“While Duane and Johan are medically fit, their provincial coaches felt it necessary that they get more game time in the Absa Currie Cup this weekend, but as we don’t have a lot of time to prepare and we need as much time with them as possible to get them used to our structures and game plans, the decision was taken to select them for the tour.
meyer wants all his players in the mix to learn his gameplan, not just sharks players! now he is even ignoring medical staff
how can we still call it the springboks. No spring with all this bull
@hendrikp (Comment 52) : Keegan dropped
What a nbumch of crap!!! Jacques Potgieter was a liability on the field and yet he retains his place. Keegan should have been retained in his place.
Happy to see Goosen and Vermeulen there as well as Francois Louw. Praying they move Marcell to 8 and have Alberts and Louw on the flanks.
Now for Mostert to replace Flip Van Der Yellowcard and we’ll be competitive!
Dixon will help a lot, we could def. use his experience with the current hooker situation.
My team for the weekend-
1.Chadwick
2.Hadebe
3.Wors
4.Sykes
5.Bresler
6.Botes
7.Deysel
8.Keegs
9.Reinach (a must for me…Mcloed is a liability, very unreliable)
10.Lambie (If available)
11.Sithole
12.Viljoen
13.Jordaan
14.Ndungane
15.Ludik
16.Dixon
17.I want Schonert; but Redlinghuys will be there.
18.J.Marais
19.Kleinhans
20.Stander
21.Mcloed
22.Bosman
@Sharksmad – The Blog’s Dudette (Comment 39) : amen. then the Sharks mend him and the Boks break him again. and so it goes. If Super Pat haven’t been used against Argentina what are the chances that he will be used against wobblies or All Blacks. Rather leave him to play some CC, if there are injuries he may always be called up.
@JJR (Comment 57) : Yep, I second that.
I like the idea of tip-toe Viljoen at inside centre, think it could pay dividends.
But we’ll probably not be allowed to play Lambie, he’s still in “HM’s ten step program to becoming a kick and chase robot for the individual”.
He’s probably stuck on a healthy diet of “Bulls, the greatest hits” and learning the words to every song ever sung by Stof Stevesuyer.
So it’ll probably be 10. Viljoen and 12. Bosman – not bad either.
@sharks_lover (Comment 41) : As much as I think that Kanko did not get as many chances as Spies (nobody, with exception of meisiekind got so many chances as spies
) I also don’t think that Kanko was so great when he playing for the Boks. I have never seen him playing as well for the Boks as I have seen him playing for the Sharks.
Isn’t it Peter Dixon?
@Ben (Comment 61) : Nope. Pieter Dixon it is.
This will prolly be the Sharks team to face the Cheetahs!
15. Louis Ludik
14. Odwa Ndungane
13. Paul Jordaan
12. Meyer Bosman
11. S’bura Sithole
10. Riaan Viljoen
09. Charl McLeod
08. Keegaan Daniel
07. Jean Deysel (Captain)
06. Jacques Botes
05. Anton Bresler
04. Steven Sykes
03. Wiehahn Herbst
02. Monde Hadebe
01. Dale Chadwick
Replacements
16. Franco Marais/ Pieter Dixon Not sure if he is match fit
17. Julian Redelinghuys
18. Jandre Marais
19. Francois Kleinhans
20. Brynard Stander/Marius Joubert
21. Cobus Reinach
22. Gouws Prinsloo
Would start with Reinach though
@Bite me (Comment 64) : I dont think Plum would, not saying i dont agree lol
Isnt John Smit youger than him?
@Bakmister (Comment 66) : John is one year younger. Pieter Dixon is a very competent and experienced hooker and will be an absolute asset to the team. His line out throwing is his strength and he is bigger than Kyle Cooper. He has already been working with the young age group hookers and has had several sessions with them.
@insider (Comment 67) : actually more like 6 months
BTW, can you confirm that Pieter played u20 rugby for the Sharks before moving on to WP? I kind of remember him being a digs mate of Smitty’s… am I right?
it’s as I thought. Dixon actually did play for the Wildebeest in the Vodacom Cup in 1998.
He’s also a Springbok – in the same sense that Riaan Viljoen is
@Bakmister (Comment 66) : Yep, spot on, John Smit is six months younger than Dixon.
Pieter and Smitty are good mates and Pieter played in Smitties recent Benefit Match at the Tank. That whole group of Sharks junior recruits often shared digs at the time ( Pieter, Butch, Smitty, Shaun Sowerby, Jaco Vd Weshuizen, Frikkie Welch etc.
@insider (Comment 72) : thanks – I thought as much.