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De Kock going strong at 36

Cape Town - Former Springbok scrumhalf Neil de Kock produced yet another stellar performance for his English club, Saracens, at the weekend.

De Kock scored a try as Saracens edged Newcastle Falcons 25-23 in their Aviva Premiership clash at Kingston Park.

The win moved Saracens up to third on the overall standings, behind Bath and leaders Northampton Saints.

The former Western Province and Stormers scrumhalf played 10 Tests for the Springboks between 2001 and 2003. He joined Saracens in 2006 and has since notched over 200 appearances for the English club.

And at 36 years of age, De Kock is still going strong.

He was satisfied after the win over Newcastle, telling Saracens' official website: “I thought for 70 minutes we were really good, and in the last ten minutes we let the game get a little bit loose. Credit to Newcastle, they came back with two tries and put us under a lot of pressure.


“We were disappointed with the end, but overall for large parts of the game I thought they were very good, and we put them under a lot of pressure. We got the win and we’re very happy with that.

“I enjoyed being out on the field and it was good to be out there amongst it. I thought across the board the boys were brilliant.

“I was lucky that I didn’t have to do so much for the try, I just had to fall over the line with no-one in front of me. If I got that wrong, it would have been pretty embarrassing!”

In an earlier interview, De Kock said he planned to play until the end of the current European season before calling it a day.

"I’m still thoroughly enjoying my rugby. I plan to play another season, I’ve been very blessed and very fortunate that my body is still going and that I feel good. The biggest thing for me is that I still have a burning desire to play, I want to contribute and give as much back to Saracens as I can, as Saracens have given me so much," he said earlier this year.

Aviva Premiership results at the weekend:

London Irish 24-9 London Welsh

Sale 30 Leicester 32 

Bath 31 Exeter 14 

Newcastle 23 Saracens 25 

Harlequins 25 Northampton 30

Gloucester 23-30 Wasps

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