Unassuming Aranos' Cheetahs feat shows history-makers don't have to be fancy

Out of the group of prominent Namibian exponents, Johan "Aranos" Coetzee is arguably the last man the rugby fraternity would've nominated as the guy to make history in the local game.

Friday afternoon at the Cape Town Stadium, the 34-year-old tighthead will become the first player from the noisy neighbours to earn 100 caps for a South African team.

Men like Renaldo Bothma, Jacques Burger, Rohan Kitshoff, Kees Lensing, Theuns Kotze and Johan Deysel have been far more successful in capturing the imagination, but - as this achievement attests to - reliability and longevity gets duly rewarded.

Coetzee, despite being beset by various injuries over the past few years, remains the bedrock of the Cheetahs' scrum, an appropriate moniker for a man who just does the basics so well.

Yet, as he approaches the twilight of a career that's also seen him play 25 Tests for Namibia to date, his franchise coach, Hawies Fourie, still hopes his veteran front-rower can find himself in a position where he can conjure up a line-break.

Because, as it turns out, Coetzee - nicknamed after the small town near the Botswanan border where he grew up - is lightning quick.

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"One of the many other skills that isn't always immediately apparent is his pace," said Fourie, ahead of the Currie Cup meeting with Western Province.

"Every game I'm yearning for him to have a clean break so that supporters can see that in action. It happens quite often in training and those runs really have the back huffing if they want to catch up with him."

Not that Fourie is being picky.

"Aranos is quite a reserved guy, someone who tends to be in the background a bit off the field. But when he's on it, he stands back for