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Instead some quiet “family time” will be planned afterwards to celebrate a milestone that few rugby players achieve.
In the past Wannenburg has been more accustomed to the wrong sort of headlines, finding himself tagged as a hell-raiser whose off-field antics often overshadowed his on-field heroics.
Yet as he sat down yesterday to answer questions about the impending honour, Wannenburg appeared more shy, withdrawn and hesitant to talk about an amazing achievement in his career.
After all, his 100 caps for the Bulls is remarkable on its own and he will share the honour with Springbok captain John Smit, who will sneak in as the first South African player by virtue of his Friday kick-off time. But Wannenburg also will be playing his 92nd Super 14 game in a row – making the achievement even more remarkable.
“If I remember right, I played seven Super rugby games in my first season before I was rested for the game against the Chiefs,” Wannenburg told Supersport.com in reminiscing about his 2002 debut season.
“From then on I haven’t missed one game, I may have been on the bench for a few, but I still played in every game since.”
To achieve the milestone is further amplified by the fact that Wannenburg, in an age of professionalism, has not been tempted by big amounts of cash, like say, Bryan Habana, and has stayed at the Bulls for nine solid seasons.
“To play 100 Super 14 games you need to be at one province for at least nine years and it shows unbelievable loyalty on behalf of Pedrie,” Bulls High Performance Manager Ian Schwartz said yesterday.
“It is unbelievable when you think that Percy Montgomery, AJ Venter and Albert van den Berg all played 100 games but for two or three different franchises, it shows the loyalty and we want to congratulate Pedrie on his achievement.”
Montgomery, Venter and Van den Berg, as well as Ollie le Roux, are all part of the 100 plus club, but for different franchises.
Coach Frans Ludeke also added his voice to the chorus of congratulations, and reiterated that Wannenburg has the emotional maturity to handle the nerves and emotions that come with such an achievement.
“To get to a situation like this you have to be a special player and have good mental capacity to handle the challenges of the game,” Ludeke added.
“I’ve got confidence that a player like Pedrie can handle the emotions of the day. Other things are behind him and there are better things ahead for him in the future. The nice thing is that he still has other dreams to pursue.
“It’s a huge milestone to have those games. For us it’s a big game, we won last week but we face a good team this weekend.”
Wannenburg again, paid tribute to the team in talking about the achievement, which comes as he seeks a new lease of life on his career.
“It’s an unbelievable privilege to get there and to pull a Bulls jersey over my head. I’m one of the few who have got there, but it is not something I’m focussing on this weekend. My focus is on doing what I can to help the team achieve its goal,” Wannenburg said.
“There are a couple of things that have changed for me – my weight is the first thing. I have put new challenges ahead of me, and I’ve put all that other stuff behind me so that I can focus on being a new person and on my team-mates.”
“There are a couple of things I can do better, but I am certainly happy at the way I’m playing at the moment.”
Indeed Wannenburg is down to a slim 111kg, and is now focused more than ever on the team he calls his “family”.
But in a long career, he admits there have been many highlights, too many to choose just one.
“There are a couple of games that stand out – obviously my first game for the Bulls. Then all the finals we played together as a team. Also the 92-3 over the Reds was excellent. There are a couple of games I can look back at and realise those are special moments in my career.
“As for the 100th game, it’s very difficult to say how this ranks, but it is definitely a milestone that you get to.”
With a rampant Brumbies side on their way to Loftus, Wannenburg will be hoping he can play his part to make the night memorable for all the right reasons.
