WHEN OLLIE LE Roux says to meet in a place called Ribs & Burgers, it seems fitting.
Leinster fans remember him fondly as a big man of 6ft and north of 135kg, a powerhouse prop forward who helped turn their forward pack from so-called ‘Ladyboys’ into trophy winners with a hard-nosed edge.
Walking into the restaurant, which it turns out le Roux part-owns, it takes a few seconds to recognise him. He has slimmed down notably but when he looks across the room and spots the new arrival from Ireland, that familiar old smile breaks out across his face.
Le Roux’s stint in Leinster was short but he made a big impression on the pitch with his skillful, muscular play and a lasting impression off it as his big personality saw him bond with the province’s fans at a time when their fortunes began to change for the better.
51-year-old le Roux lives in Bloemfontein now and he looks back on that time in Leinster with great warmth. He only had one full season with the Irish province in 2007/08 but returned for a few stints during the following campaign as Michael Cheika’s side went on a journey that ended with their first Heineken Cup.
Le Roux was 34 when Leinster came calling. He had played 54 times for the Springboks, shone for the Sharks, and had just won three Currie Cups in a row with the Cheetahs under Rassie Erasmus when the Irish adventure popped up.
“Michael Cheika was flying back from Australia and he stopped here,” says le Roux. “I met him at the airport and we sat and chatted for four hours. I was saying that if he wanted a prop, he could get that anywhere in the world, but with me he was getting an oke that could bring something to the team. I wasn’t going for a pension.
“They only gave me a one-year contract and I was really offended by it, I would have wanted a two-year deal with the option for more. Micky Dawson said players had come on pension before, but I said if I was going to Leinster, I would commit.
“I said he was making a mistake because they would end up begging me to sign another year. That’s what happened, but I said, “Sorry, bru.’”
As his Leinster team-mates from the time know, le Roux is a man who enjoys conversing. He was never shy about offering his opinion and that was one of the strengths he brought to Leinster as they ended a trophy drought by winning the 2008 Magners League.
Le Roux’s fondness for a chat hasn’t diminished over the years. As the people around us in Pretoria get stuck into burgers and ribs, le Roux dives into the details of rugby and the principles he feels are at its core. He is a self-professed rugby philosopher, like so many South Africans.
His strong views on the game led to disagreements during his playing days – he recalls one big barney with Shane Horgan – but le Roux enjoyed how Irish rugby had an open mind.
“I’m sad I didn’t come over earlier,” he says. “I loved it. I loved the Leinster fans, they were incredible. We take the game seriously in South Africa but there was a freedom in Ireland that you don’t have in South Africa. People would give opinions.”
Le Roux combined with Bernard Jackman and Stanely Wright in Leinster’s front row for much of the 2007/08 season, while Leo Cullen and Malcolm O’Kelly were in the second row, and the likes of Jamie Heaslip, Keith Gleeson, and Shane Jennings were kept on their toes by prospects like Seán O’Brien in the back row.
“That was a proper pack,” says le Roux before reeling off the magicians in a “phenomenal” backline – Horgan, Brian O’Driscoll, Gordon D’Arcy, Luke Fitzgerald, Rob Kearney, and others.
“You Irish, your skills are in a different world with the GAA background,” says le Roux.
“The skill levels, I remember some of the tries we scored… bru!”
Johnny Sexton hadn’t yet taken over from Felipe Contepomi at out-half but le Roux rated him highly. He recalls how he asked Chieka why he didn’t start Sexton in more games but le Roux says he later realised that the manner in which Sexton had to genuinely fight for his place made him a better player in the end.
O’Driscoll was the captain in 2007/08 as Leinster won the Magners League but le Roux could sense that second row Cullen had the qualities to take over the following season, a move Cheika made before their Heineken Cup-winning campaign.
“Whenever Brian and other guys left for the Ireland squad, Leo brought a calmness and authority as captain,” says le Roux.
“Brian’s stature probably intimidated some of the younger guys because he was such a big figure. Leo had this calm approach and told guys exactly what they needed to do.”
Le Roux wasn’t surprised to see Cullen become Leinster’s head coach. He explains how Cullen made him feel welcome early on by dropping a shoulder of lamb over to his house. The le Roux family had never eaten it before but it remains a favourite to this day.
Le Roux came as a loosehead prop but he remembers playing at hooker against Cardiff due to an injury crisis. Cue some confusion at the lineout.
“The Irish English is a tough accent, especially when Leo Cullen talks,” says le Roux with a laugh.
“The lineout calls were difficult, it was three calls in one, and I hadn’t thrown since I was young. I’m standing there waiting for the call and I throw it and it nearly ends up in Johnny Sexton’s hands.”
The weather proved to be the biggest challenge. Le Roux used to cycle to training and remembers slipping on black ice one day, no one having warned him to watch out for it.
He couldn’t figure out why he was getting cravings for chilis and dark chocolate until one of the S&C staff said other Southern Hemisphere players had experienced the same. It was put down to their bodies craving the endorphin rush usually delivered by the sun.
It was tough for Ollie’s wife in Ireland. While he was playing rugby, she was taking care of their three daughters with no support network. After one season, they decided to head home to South Africa.
“I would have loved to stay at Leinster but my wife got sick and Ireland is a very tough place with the weather,” says le Roux.
“We went over with my third daughter being five months old, so she was cooped up with a five-year-old, a three-year-old, and a five-month-old. Ireland can be a gloomy place, no sunshine, and she became a bit sick so I had to make the call.”
Leinster bid them good luck but refused to say goodbye forever. Cheika convinced le Roux to remain on call if they needed short-term boosts in the front row and he duly returned a couple of times during the 2008/09 season as a medical joker.
The second time he came back was when Leinster were building up to their famous 2009 Heineken Cup semi-final against Munster, the day the balance of power shifted into Leinster’s favour.
Le Roux didn’t play but he loved being there in Croke Park.
“We annihilated Munster in that game,” he says. “We had done the double the previous year against Munster too. We physically manned up, got our scrum sorted, and we got to that final.”
He was back in South Africa by the time Leinster beat Leicester in the decider, watching it with a big smile and a sense of pride at having played a part in the journey.
That was the end of his playing career and while he found the initial transition out of rugby tough – he calls it a trauma – le Roux has found his feet. He has four daughters who give him great joy. His eye for opportunity in business has led him down many paths – chicken farming, property development, entrepreneurship, and the hospitality trade.
He completed an Ironman a few years ago but has since got two new hips, a legacy of his playing days. His recent weight loss has helped some of the health issues he had been dealing with over the last few years. Le Roux looks fit and happy now.
His involvement with rugby these days is as an “impact coach” when old friends call on him for help, usually around the scrum.
Being a 54-cap Springboks earns you serious respect in South Africa.
“Unless you’re a guy like Tom Brady, sport is brutal,” he says of his experiences in the green and gold jersey, which began with a debut in 1994 just as apartheid was ended.
“If I was playing today, I think I would have played more Tests. We were always under pressure back then, it felt like it was about if the coach liked you or someone else. I’m a guy who challenges coaches and some coaches don’t like that. Rassie knows that as well.”
And with that, we’re down another avenue as the conversation swings onto the Springboks.
Le Roux has moved on but rugby is still close to his heart. So are Leinster.
