Goodbye Bulls, hello Boks for Flippie
Mon, 05 May 2008 11:46
The Blue Bulls Company (Pty) Ltd has decided to release their esteemed kit manager Flippie Malakoane of his contract in order to further his career with SA Rugby.
Malakoane has been involved at Loftus Versfeld since 1996 when he was working in the merchandising department of the sports store and in 1997 he became the kit manager of the Blue Bulls' Currie Cup as well as Super 12 team, according to the official Bulls website.
He stayed on in his capacity as kit manager of the Bulls throughout the years and joined the Springboks in the same role in 2001 when Harry Viljoen was coaching the national team.
2001 was also the first year that he toured with the Bulls to Australasia and later that year he traveled with the Boks to Europe and the USA.
When Rudolph Straeuli took over as Springbok coach Malakoane stayed on in his capacity as kit manager and was also part of the 2003 World Cup in Australia.
In 2004 Jake White was glad to have an experienced guy like "Flippie" on board and he stayed with the team for four years including the wonderful moments in France when John Smit lifted the William Webb Ellis Cup.
Last year he did not work with the Bulls due to his responsibilities with the national team and in 2008 he only helped the Vodacom Cup side and not the Super 14 team.
He is quite excited about his new role at SA Rugby and said it was a huge honour to have been involved with the Bulls for more than ten years.
