The Original Pranksters
It all started when Corné Krige and De Wet Barry, coming back from an evening stroll, saw a Possum climbing into a dustbin just outside the team hotel in Brisbane. The two pranksters immediately decided to catch the Possum, (a scary creature that looks like a cross between a monkey, rat and squirrel) wrap it in a black bag and take it into the hotel, where unsuspecting Team Manager Thelo Wakefield and Assistant Coach David Dobela were chatting about the Stormers and the tour ahead.
“The door to my room was wide open. Someone suddenly chucked a black bag into the room and I got up to see what was in the bag. I saw that the bag was moving and at first I thought there was something wrong with my eyes. When I moved closer to the bag I saw this long tail and alerted David (Dobela). David jumped up, walked around the bag (you should have seen his reaction), went out by the door and ran to his room, locking himself in,” recalls Team Manager Thelo Wakefield. “I ran to the bathroom and locked the door behind me. I heard Corné and Werner’s voice and knew these guys were up to something again.”
With all this commotion filling the corridor, Thelo’s room was soon filled with players as Pat Barnard and Schalk Burger decided to join in on the fun. “The players were all standing on my bed and I could hear this hell of a noise. Every now and then I peeped out to check what was going on. They were trying to catch the thing, but were just as scared as I was!”
De Wet managed to catch the Possum, with Corné forcing the bathroom door open and Thelo trapped with no where to go! “I screamed and shouted for help.”
“Fortunately the guys left and went to Helen’s (Helen Millson – Team Physiotherapist) room and the same happened there. Gus Theron knocked on the door and asked Helen for plaster. She opened and invited him in. The next moment the Possum was running around in her room. She nearly fainted and swore never to open the door for anyone again.”
Now you know – DON’T BLINK when Corné, De Wet and Werner are around – you never know what they will dish-up!
