Corinthian pulled off one of the most eye-catching pair of acquisitions before Christmas when South African international duo Andrew Cronje (left) and Darren Kimfley (right) joined for the remainder of the 2008/09 season.
The pair join a rapidly expanding South African contingent in the club, and in Leinster hockey as a whole, which could yet catapult the reds into an IHL place.
The Hook caught up with the Springbok duo last Saturday at Glenanne Park and found out the pair have quite different reasons for arriving on these shores but, for both, the 2012 Olympics remains the ultimate goal.
Cronje, a veteran of 73 caps and Beijing, comes to Ireland with the possibility of settling down here should things work out, saying: “I’ve just finished studying and wanted to get out of Cape Town. My parents are working up in Belfast and so decided this was a nice place to come to.
“I’ve still got plans to try and go to London with South Africa so I’m playing it by ear at the moment but who knows where this might take me.”
As for the Olympic experience, he is no doubts he would like to taste that experience. “The Olympics was the greatest three weeks of my life and something really special to be a part of.”
Speaking about the standard in Ireland, Cronje adds: “It’s a good standard; there are some quality Irish players. I’ve been fortunate to play a few test matches back home in SA. It’s similar to the league I play back home in Cape Town and I think Ireland has a lot of potential and 
can do some good things in the years to come.”
Referring to the Glenanne game, Cronje added "We are obviously disappointed, we've been training hard over Christmas. Glenanne are a really clever side and had some good, key players that stood out today. We were very disappointed to lose the game but we'll pick ourselves up and are looking forward to the weeks ahead."
As for Kimfley, the 21-year-old is currently on his summer holidays from University and is one of the emerging talents in South African hockey. He has broken numerous scoring records in the past couple of years and is using the time in Dublin as a springboard to improve on the current one cap he holds.
He was in the extended squad for Beijing but missed the final cut, something he will not endure again. “John McInroy approached me about playing here. I said to him ‘I’m doing nothing at the moment, I might as well!’
“It’s ideal for me to help me get fit because when I get back home I’ll be training with the national side so this is like my preseason training. I was in the loop with South Africa for Beijing and now I’m working for the next World Cup and Olympics.”
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35 comments:
Interesting that Corinthians had to bring in two "imports" for the second half of the season and couldn't promote within - bad sign - Railway to reproduce their win against them earlier in the season but maybe 2-0 this time.
great article! Nice to see how the league is expanding its boundaries and welcoming players from other nations. I understand that there are a few other players that are from abroad, can only mean a step forward for Irish hockey and the IHL. I am all for it!
there must be something attractive about Irish hockey (or maybe Ireland in general) with all these Olympians coming over to play here...
Agree with the first comment, and from what i was told they were easily swept aside by the glens last saturday. I recall when corinthians did this before a few years ago, 1 or 2 players is fine but as the article says there is a strong foreign connection up there the only problem is that they do not have the home grown quality to back it up.
the corinthians sweeper (the first guy from the article) is superb.
Great article Steven, and its really good to get info on these new players, and thus will only improve the standard of hockey in Ireland. It's great to hear that an olympian is ompressed with the standard of our league. Cheers for the info Steve.
I seem to remember when Pembroke brought in Symmons and McInroy at first there was uproar about this sort of thing,how is it any different when corinthians do the same thing?
its a pity for Corinthians if they have to resort to imports such as these to make the IHL...I wonder how the seconds players with first team ambitions feel about the these imports
It can only improve the standard of the league that players of this kind of quality are coming here to play. The better the players in the league, the better the league no? I think we should relish the chance to play with and against players who are of such a high standard. Why not test yourself against the best?
Bring it on Railway!
i say welcome to them, they'll strengthen the league and make it more competitive. Should make the scramble for IHL places interesting....
The real trick for Corinthians is to ensure that the knowledge that these obviously talented players bring to these shores, is captured and shared amongst the home grown players. I agree with previous comments that Cronje is indeed a superb player.
Exactly, of the other guys who've arrived from Africa, Miles and Rixy have both given back a lot in terms of coaching to clubs and schools around Dublin.
It would be great if they stuck around and helped improve our game
There is nothing new in this approach in Corinthians , Colin Stewart ie Bachus personally contributed a huge amount a few years ago as a player and coach. he brought talent like Jock, Tucker, Dan williams, Clauson, James Benson etc etc etc... As well as Anna and Kylie.
effectively Corinthians went through a sucessfull Australian phase and now are trying to emulate this with a SA phase , only difference is talent pool is slightly different ..
From what i hear most non irish players contribute a hugh amount to Irish Hockey at schools, and senior level , this in general goes unnoticed . If we removed all of these coaches and players from Mens and ladies hockey Irish Hockey would be in a very sorry state. !
We should in fact be rewarding them for staying in this crap climate and putting up with Irish folks giving out about them - welcome all ,we need you !!!
Absolutely the likes of Rixi and Dan Williams coach all the time and having been here years now have certainly earned their way.
This talk is nonsense anyway Cronje is a superb player people should be excited to be playing with or against him and dare I say it improve their own game in the process..
I think its great, because i'd like nothing better than beating a team of imports
jb best player to play leinster league. hated playing against him.
"its a pity for Corinthians if they have to resort to imports such as these to make the IHL..."
Thats a ridiculous comment to make.
Thats like saying it's a pity for United to have to bring in Berbatov to try and retain the league.
By your reasoning we should freeze all player transfers if the player is going to play first team hockey.
It's about what's best for the club, if the player's from the seconds who were hoping to make the firsts want to play ahead of these guys they'll just have to man train harder.
Any other transfer news over Christmas?
I agree, it's a pathetic complaint to make. Who cares where the players are from if they are good players? If they had joined your team you wouldn't complain so let them play in peace. I don't see what the problem is if the standard of the league goes up. I'd hope that if i went to play abroad at some stage i'd be welcomed not given out about just because of my nationality. And by the way I don't play for CHC!
It's interesting to see that the South Africans are choosing Corinthian ahead of Pembroke this year! come on Ned pull the finger...
CHC have had a lot of foreign players but most are not so foreign anymore. There must be something good about the club to manage to keep the players commited to the club for the rest of their hockey years (Miles, Dan, Bachus etc...)!
It all seems a bit ignorant to be bringing up race when talking about whats fair in hockey. Don't Irish born people change clubs too? And anyway, it happens in women's hockey too, but no complaints are made. Just look at Alex and their class new mid fielder.
If anyone is bringing CHC closer to reaching the IHLs, it's Pete Doherty.
I am also not a CHC player.
I think chc are going to hammer railway this weekend! Railway getting very cocky and arrogant after winning a couple of matches,
Anonymous
haha pete doherty. i hear he's been writing a good few songs for corinthians alright
Why Pete Doherty?Does he play in the changing rooms before they go out to play?
pete darley or brian doherty?????
Pete Darley and John Mc Inroy are excellent coaches and will steer CHC to IHL no doubt if attitude stays right -- CHC secret weapon is Charlie Lyons--best manager in the country --ask any of the players.
not having a poke at CHC for foreign players here, but just as an aside; which sides have no foreigners amongst their ranks (all irish)?
Glennane
Fingal
Kilkenny
YMCA?
UCD?
Railway?
its all a bit of a babyshambles rely
Jacob Webber - Australia - at YMCA
John Anderson - South African - at RU
there's a few in division two as well, only natural with the new multi-cultural Ireland
whats all this about railway getting cocky and arrogant??? Come down tues/thurs or sat night and see how much arrogance is floating around. The only cockeyness in park ave comes in the bar on the sat night after a few pints when at the pool table - and I like that.
Good luck to the safas in whitechurch, however remember railway years back when 4 arrived in and then jumped ship.......disaster.
Harsh on aspiring 1st/2nd team players when players are brought in......'should I stay or should i go'....big decision.
I think there is a point to be made regarding how clubs try and remain competitive in the league. For the clubs in the mid and lower end of the table it must be quite difficult to attract quality local players from the top clubs(especially mid season!) whilst these players want to be challenged not only by each other but also now with the possibility of IHL competition.
It is up to these clubs to think outside the box and broaden the possible player pool, if CHC manage to qualify for IHL then im sure they will be able to attract one or two local lads but I bet that if the SA lads enjoy their time here then they will spread the word back home and an invaluable connection will be made.For irish hockey these guys can become ambassadors for the league in their home countries.
Yeah great to see these players here in Ireland, doesn't matter what 'walk of life' they come from.Can only help our standard and ideas.Loved watching Trapper and Bacchus play a few years back.Have to be careful with club loyalty though-didn't those guys from Suttonians get paid quite a lot and they have already left!!!
It seems things have come full circle. I remember when it was just trapper, bacchus and I. Regardless of what the sideline critics said, on the field it was just about the hockey. I think the learning experience went both ways acually and I certainly became a better player for playing in Ireland. Good luck CHC!
JB
good to see the blog is getting comments from Singapore..!!
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