Barney's army needs you!
At the end of that year, he was able to hand over R1million in total to these charities, thanks to incredible support from corporates and individuals in SA and abroad. Since then, much has changed in this rugby legend's life and, as we all know, he is back in Durban as CEO of The Sharks.
However, his selected charities are still very close to his heart and, he's back on the trail once more to raise funds for them. This time though not in a pair of rugby boots, but cleats and a cycling helmet.
As he says, " In a moment of madness I signed up to do the Epic this year, a demanding eight day mountain bike adventure of 718km with 14 850m of climbing from Meerendal Wine Estate in Durbanville to Lourensford Wine Estate in Somerset West."
The Absa Cape Epic began yesterday, Sunday March 23, and sees John in the saddle for the next week conquering one of the most grueling and intense mountain bike adventures in the world. He goes on to explain further, "To help me justify such a significantly stupid decision, please can you pledge any amount of money per km I manage to cover over the 8 days! I think the idea of riding for more than just myself will make the entire thing so much more rewarding."
To find out more about how you can get behind John's quest, go to http://barneysarmy.co.za/111-Foundations.aspx and also like Barney's Army facebook page for updates on how he is doing.
Cell C, The Sharks title sponsor, have already come on board on the first day of launching his pledge, and have pledged support for both John and SA RUGBY LEGENDS ASSOCIATION CEO and JOhn's former teammate, Stefan Terblanche. Stefan has very kindly passed on his portion to Barney's Army too.
Incidentally, besides John and Stefan, two other former rugby greats Joel Stranksy and Butch James are also participating in this year's event.
(File photo:Gallo Images)