Rugby: Spies the limit for bionic Bull

Pierre Spies is supremely strong and fast. Photo / Getty Images

Pierre Spies, the bionic Bull, made a welcome break from tedious rugby-player speak when he said recently that he was on course to become the best No 8 in world rugby.

He's planning on maintaining his herculean - some would say draconian - training regimen until he achieves that goal.

"Ryan Kankowski [Sharks], Andy Powell [Wales], Jamie Heaslip [Ireland] and Rodney So'oialo are unbelievable players, but the best No 8 in world rugby ... it is me in the making," the 23-year-old said.

Observers of this year's Super 14 would not argue, and he will be the first person the Chiefs want to nail in the Super 14 final at Loftus Versfeld.

When Spies gets that mighty frame pumping, he takes some catching, as the Crusaders will testify after last week's semifinal at the same venue.

Speaking of Spies getting nailed, it is the knocks that he has taken in his career that have set him on his mission.

His first match for the Springboks, in fact his very first touch of the ball in the green and gold, was a baptism from hell. It was the infamous Tri-Nations Test in Brisbane in 2006 when the Boks got bashed 49-0, but none more so than Spies. He took the ball from the kick-off and as the debutant began taking the ball up, the Wallabies screamed at each other, "F*** him up, f*** up". And they did.

The deeply religious Afrikaner was unsettled by his horror debut to say the least. But he will tell you that everything in life happens for a reason as part of a greater plan that mortals have no place questioning.

Which is why he was able to deal with his removal from the Rugby World Cup squad, just a month before departure, with good grace.

He had coughed up blood at a Springbok training camp and tests revealed he had a rare disorder - in layman's terms, his blood had become too thin and was not clotting, so if he took a heavy knock, he could bleed to death internally.

Yeah right, said the sceptics. This sounds like a cover-up for a positive drug test. Look at the guy, he could step out of his rugby boots on to a body building stage. There is no way that physique is natural.

Spies' first defence was that the disorder was not rare to his family. His father and uncle died of heart attacks at young ages, and both were supremely fit. Pierre Spies snr played wing for the Blue Bulls and was a champion hurdler. When you see Pierre jnr score a try and raise a finger to the sky, it is a signal to his old man, as in "that one was one for you, Dad".

Spies' second defence to the steroid allegations is his ridiculously clean lifestyle and obsession with training.

"What can I say about the rumours? Nothing," he told SA Rugby. "I can't shape what people think. But those people who make those allegations are not there with me in the gym when everybody else has gone home. They don't see what I eat, the lengths I go to to look after my body. They are not there when my mates go out partying and I turn down the invite because I know it will affect the way I train. They are not there. They do not see the sacrifices I make."

For the impressive record, Spies is the strongest Bull: he bench presses 165kg, deadlifts 240kg, cleans 135kg and does chin-ups with a 50kg weight attached to his waist. From a standing position he can leap 1.4m on to a platform (he weighs 108kg and has a body fat percentage of 6.5).

The most impressive stat, though, is that he can sprint 835m before slowing on a sprintability test.

That is freaky.

"I set high standards for myself," he says. "But at times it seems my critics will only be happy if I make 15 line breaks, 100 tackles and score five tries carrying four defenders on my back. And that is fine, because ultimately that is what I want to be able to do. I want to dominate rugby matches. I don't do that yet. It will take time, but I will get there."

And he probably will. He might not have a life as you and I know it, but with his dedication and single-mindedness, there might literally be no stopping him.