Springboks legend Percy Montgomery ‘saves’ a dolphin

1 Views

Springboks icon Percy Montgomery is on several side quests in life right now. One of them was seemingly saving a beached dolphin.

Percy intercepts a struggling dolphin on the shore

Opinions on the internet tend to vary wildly and this is no exception. While it appears that Percy saved this dolphin from serious distress, some comments and replies on X and Facebook indicate that a few people think that the dolphin was intentionally trying to get back to shore. Whatever your take is, Percy was certainly doing his best and with the purest intentions. If an account called World Ocean Day is condoning it, then he’s probably doing just fine.

Springboks point machine

At the start of his career, Percy Montgomery was known for his flashy, flamboyant skills. However, as he matured and settled into his roles for the Springboks, Sharks, Stormers and clubs abroad, Monty became one of the most dependable players in the world. He was often the first name on the team sheet. A career tally of 102 caps and 893 points for South Africa bears testament. Only six players in history pulled on the green & gold jersey more often than Percival Colin Montgomery. No player amassed more points.

At his best, Percy was rock-solid as the last defensive line and used his in-game intelligence and tactical smarts to join attacking movements at opportunistic moments. Off the kicking tee, Percy was a metronomic maestro with that abbreviated run-up. 105 of Percy’s points for his country came at the 2007 Rugby World Cup when the Boks beat England in the final. Monty led the individual scoring charts that year. Montgomery was the first player to reach a century of caps for the Springboks and his eventual tally stands at 102.

Springboks legends Bryan Habana, Percy Montgomery and JP Pieterson
ST DENIS, FRANCE – OCTOBER 20: Bryan Habana, Percy Montgomery and JP Pietersen during the IRB 2007 Rugby World Cup final match between South Africa and England held at the Stade de France on October 20, 2007 in St Denis, France. Source: SARugby

Percy’s side quests

Percy has started a tequilaÂbrand El Centurion 102, paying homage to his Springbok test cap tally and the fact that he was the first to bring up a century. He lives on the Atlantic seaboard of Cape Town. The author of this article was lucky enough to summit Lion’s Head with the legendary fullback, alongside a bunch of other patriotic South African rugby lovers. This was an informal gathering to drum up support just before the Springboks travelled to Japan to contest the 2019 Rugby World Cup. That ended pretty well. Percy also coached the SA Rugby Legends vs the Portuguese Barbarians in 2022 in Portugal. For a laugh, you know? Oh, he also hit a hole-in-one recently.

Did this dolphin want to be saved or was it in distress and in need of a short break?

Let us know by leaving a comment below, or sending a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website’s newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.