I know some of you on here has shared your background in rugby. We have a range of all ages. Even our senior members who just gone around the globe 80 times. I would really like learn more about why you love this game and whether you enjoy coaching, playing or supporting your kids playing etc. Feel free to drop your background and share.
From my first memories of watching TV was watching rugga with my dad, uncles and Oupa...
Started playing in primary school...kaalvoet in die Boland...early drives on the bus to Ceres, Koue Bokkeveld, etc...great times...
Had to quit in Standard 7 due to a neck injury....still love the game...even watching club games at the local club...wide range of beers al at cost for cost.
It's just in my blood...my kids don't share the passion, but I'm fine with that...there's other stuff we enjoy together.
PS, you didn't really mention your pedigree .
Yip myself Played @ school in the Boland, Worcester....damm cold Kaakvoet....played after School a bit of club Rugby in Germany and stopped at 30....the Game is exiting and always somehow cheers me up....also brings people together, nothing better than a Braai, Beer and Rugby....can relate to that, its definitely in the blood.
Awesome, two Boland players. I started playing when I was 7, back in the days of those orange plastic rugby balls in the 80's. Then went onto 15 man game. Also played barefoot, but then moved to the cape schools and all of the kids were wearing togs. Remember showing up barefoot and having my feet stamped on so many times. My dad had to find a sport shop that could get me togs for my first game. I was over the moon.
Move to a few primary schools, my parents got divorced, long story but rugby help making lots of new friends at each school.
I even played at 8 for Malmesbury under 13 1st team when I was 12. They didn't have a team for under 12's so they had 3 teams for 12 and 13. But I was really tall for my age.
I then moved to Durbanville half way through the year, my mon made some bad judgement on the school. I then joined their under 12 team but the only spot they had for me was at loosehead. Skinny tall me getting my head smashed in because I knew nothing about scrumming. Survived the 2nd half.
The following year I was in the 1st team and played 6 the entire year. I was the go to guy for set plays. Back when we still played with leather balls and muddy fields that made to ball heavy and slippery. Got picked for Craven week trial but they put me at lock. So made the final round but never got picked for WP.
I went to Jan van Riebeeck in the city as my first high school, but the rugby sucked and they couldn't put a full team together. So I quit as it wasn't compulsory. I then went to table view high, every teacher wanted me to play, but I just had enough. I did play in metric but couldn't break into the first team. Had to switch from 8, to hooker. No chance. Our school also had a surfing team, so that to me was way better than having the metal works teacher shout at you the whole time. He was really dumb. I pissed him off so much one day. I was in the 2nd team and I still were pissed off with him for wanting me to play hooker. So the 2nd team were just there as punch bags. Me and some of the guys divided a plan to disrupt their line outs. We managed to pinch a few balls and just show him how shit he was. The players he dropped into the 2nd team were better than most of the 1st but guys picked as he like certain players but they weren't the best. After that practice session I just packed it in.
I moved to Dublin and played in their tag rugby league, great fun and then got recruited by Landsowne road, where the boks are playing on Saturday. Originally played at 8, but felt a bit short at 1.88cm and only 94kg to be a forward. I dropped to their 2nd team and put my hand up to play centre when one of the okes didn't show up. Played well and then played their for the rest of the season. The 1st team also played on Sundays, which is nuts, you couldn't go out on a Friday or Saturday and being young bloke just preferred to be in the 2nd team. Way more fun, I had no plan or thought I was that good that I would play for Leinster or Ireland. There were a lot of decent Irish players. Met a bunch of the Irish players, Brian O and the rest as they would train at our field sometimes. But Ireland even back then had some amazing club players, they just didn't have the mental strength or self believe.
I left Dublin because I hated the wet and went on to travel a bit. I arrived in London, but didn't get a chance to join any clubs. Still played some tag rugby which to me is way better than touch.
I went to Uni in Birmingham and signed up to the a local team. Wasn't a great league but I played 2 seasons at 12 and sometimes at 10. I can't drop kick for shit, but could convert as well really long kicks.
However, tore my ACL in my final year at uni and got stuck in the shitty NHS, took 7 years for them to finally fix my knee but by that time I started my family and were well into my 30s.
My kids don't watch rugby with me, but I always make sure that they wear a bok jumper on match day. They are not allowed to shout for England, even though their mom is a massive England and Leicester tigers fan. She actually played rugby as a kid too with the boys and sold programmes at the tigers ground on match day.
Anyway, now a days I try to get to games when I can. Glad that our teams are playing in Europe. Can now go watch the Stormers play London Irish. Was thinking of going to Wales the other day but the game was on too late and Cardiff is shit hole. Just as well as we drew
Played Lock at primary school level and much later played as a senior for a club called Perseverance. I remember the first time I stuck my head into a scrum, the Hooker was wearing a studded buckle belt. Ouch! I also remember the first time I walked into a team meeting, all the players just stared at me and gasped.....by then I was 6'4"......my height was like hen's teeth at the time LOL Didn't play for too long, a couple of years, love cricket and continue to this day, also enjoyed Table Tennis and by the time I migrated I was ranked 5th in Western Province. Swimming was my other interest. But all of those sports went out the window with the demands of migration. Started a family soon after we'd arrived and seven years later I made a comeback, won a few team trophies in A Grade but father time had slowed me down. Gyms were a novelty and to this day even though I still have a pop at Table Tennis I'm in the gym 4/5 days per week. My rugby playing days had long ended. I mostly enjoy international rugby and that interest has taken me to three world cups.
Oh, forgot to mention, I enjoyed my son playing the game during his high school days but he quit and went onto play rugby league. I think the Boks losing all the time impacted negatively on him and that's why he turned away from the game. But while he played I was a very proud dad.
Awesome Denny, we had a guy who was super tall for his age, but he end up getting a basketball college sponsor to go play in the states. He always had to duck when entering a room, at 14!!!
What type of team did you play for that the hooker could wear a belt!!?
I use to tell my locks to pull the hookers hair. It was hilarious seeing the opposite hooker pop up, screaming, they pulling my hair. Then you have the Afrikaans ref just saying, ag, it must just your hair getting caught in the scrum. If you had long hair you had no chance of coming with out losing a few clumps.
That happened while I was in primary school.
Maybe it was his moms belt?
Ja, maybe he was hiding it from her.
ouch, getting moer with that thing when you are not listening
I played at school and when I went to UCT my lectures conflicted with practice times, so I played a few games for Villagers U19. But it wasn’t that much fun not playing with your mates….and then I got a badly dislocated shoulder and they told me I would need an operation if I wanted to go on playing, so I switched to my other passions, surfing and golf.
Speaking about kaalvoet rugby. Up in the TVL we played without boots at primary school. Then when I started High School we wore boots. I felt heavy, pegged to the ground. So after a few mediocre games I took the boots off… and I was free. Had a great game and that restored my confidence. Next game I put the boots back on and I was fine….all in the mind.
Nice Mozart, Villagers have always been top club. However, club rugby has been taking a back seat since the introduction of Varsity Cup. My mate use to play for Hamiltons.
What was your favourite surf spot?
We got to surf all around the Cape Peninsula thanks to the school for making it a sport and very happy we got driven around in the school bus.
In my day we surfed the more conventional spots….Long Beach, the Corner, Tanks. I remember one day at the Corner, the day before a law exam. It was 8 feet plus and perfect shape….I surfed till I was exhausted.
I also surfed up the Coast at Buffels Bay, Jeffries, Seal Point. Overall Jeffries was clearly the best wave.
Remembering surfing the corner in comps, I would have a wetsuit and still suffer from the cold. Talk about ice cream headaches after a duck dive
So what positions….I played 10, 12 and 15…..mostly 10.
No rugby was played at junior school in my day and I started playing at High School (standard 6 to 10) and was the 1st team fly-half from Standard 8 to Standard 10.
After school with studies, call up for military service and working at night and week-ends to pay for my education I had little time for sport.
But prior to all that I did belong to Durban Collegians and had a few games at fly-half.
The issues at that club fo me was that the 1st team fly-half was a guy called Keith Oxlee who played for Natal and the Springboks.
Joking of course I would never have made the top team anyway.
But the Natal now Sharks and the Springboks have always been my top teams and I try as best to follow them during the season.
Road running and cross country was another sport that I was hooked on and did run a few long races and as I matured (body gave notice) I had to cut back to trail running and now walking the trails.
A year younger that CM but hanging in.
I cover 8 to 10 Kms each and every day irrespective of the season and play Pickleball with my wife and friends. She of course takes great pleasure it sticking it to me on the court.
She won a bronze medal at the USA Seniors Woman championships in Florida ((2020) prior to the Covid issues as we could not travel.
But in general we are busy gardeners and spend a ton of time with our grandchildren (6) and great grandsons (3) as as always "Mom" tends to spoil them all.
Support them in sport and our eldest granddaughter was a very good rugby player, our oldest grandson is a fly-fishing guide and has produced many a video on fly-fishing.
But we will always support the Springboks and South Africa even now after 35 years it is still in my (our) blood.
Cheers.
Got a few surfers on here, very nice.
AJH, thanks for sharing and glad to hear you have not forgotten about the boks.
I must admit, love playing 10, but only played a handful of games there. I never had a strong left pass. 12 Suited me, played a lot like Dud Allende, crash ball runner, cut in and get over the advantage line.
Although, I would say the 1 on 1 tackles at 12 were way more physical than I experience in the forwards. Always had the big boys coming at pace in that channel, if its not a big lock, prop, loose forward or the odd tractor big 10 to content with. Got a lot of stingers in my shoulders putting hits in.
But also enjoyed the freedom 8 gave you, especially breaking off the b ack of the scrum. I would often drift out of the line out and join the backline on attack as 3rd centre to crash the ball up.
I use to do the 100m in 11:45, but in my twenties I got slower, so 14 seconds, but now, I'm lucky if I can hold my breath after running for the train or bus.
Great to see so many on here still staying active in another form of sport that isn't so taxing on the body.
I was lucky with no major injuries, until I did my ACL.
But my body was always sore after a club game when playing in Dublin. Could remember the first time we played at 0 degrees, field were frozen over.
On another day one of my friends got stuck in the mud and lost his boot.
Completely different world from the dry fields of SA and make the cape winters look like a spring day.
My parents were academic not sports people at all.
But spent my days playing rugby (if you can call it rugby, more like an all in brawl during my school years) at break time and after school
loved it but never played a proper game of rugby.
My sister is a basketball nut and I have watched rugby religiously since I was about 18. My other sister and brother have zero interest in sport at all.
Lived my sports through my boy, best memories were watching him play soccer and rugby as he was growing up. He is rugby mad like me and when I am home we sit down to as many games as possible.
He has a son on the way and looking forward to standing on the sidelines with my boy, I am sure he will enjoy it as much as I did watching him.
Life is good
I think most of us are destined to live sport through our kids.
Always told my boy it's the game and friends that matter more than results.
Just wish my parents were more sport orientated but wouldn't swap them for the world.
I started my youth playing soccer, very good for positional play when I did takeup rugger amongst the backs. Playing against Maritzburg College was all that mattered those years. We did beat them a couple of times but I got crunched on their rock hard fields.
Army rugby great and we won our the local 7s but lost in the final of the full 15S.
I later got injured in club rugby and took up squash.My earliest rugby memories were of that Serge Blanco.. what a player.
Started in last year of primary school at u12s barefoot.
Played u14s in std 6 at fullback and given the nick name Mamba for snake hips and tackling everything. At under 15s I was moved to 9 cos everyone else had grown and I hadn't. In Std 8 they told me to play u15s again cos I still hadn't grown. So two years in u15s. Std 9 I was told by the 1st team coach that I was too small to play opens and should see if I could have another season at U15s. Walked away from the game. I was probably around 5ft then. Over the next year and a half I shot up and finished school at 6ft2 but a stringbean, around 70/75 kg.
Didn't play competitive rugby after that until I came to the UK and joined a local club in 2010 so a 10 year hiatus. Trained on the Tuesday and Thursday, played for the thirds on Saturday. Two tries on debut. Played for the 2nds following week, and 1sts the week after. Try on debut and piss up after. Nearly played in the Men's Senior Vase Final at Twickenham but missed out on selection for that game. Played at a decent level of rugby for the next two seasons against teams like Bourneville, Nuneaton, Walsall and Rugby Lions.
Sadly that club like many others has folded going from 3 sides to none, struggling to fulfill fixtures since 2018.
In 2017 I started assitant coaching the team my son was in and found myself in 2018 playing for that club. Played a mixture of 1st and 2nd team games since then till May of this year when I tore my rotator cuff in a charity match.
My lad is now 18 and I've had the pleasure of playing in the same game with him, myself at 10 (not as fast as I once was) and him at blindside cos of rules regarding age and front row players ( he's a hooker but was 17 at the time). It's also been awesome to play with the lads I've coached since u10s through colts and into the seniors.
I now coach the under 10s under 15s and next generation of colts (assistant) and am part of the senior sides coaching team. Was also part of the Warwickshire u18 coaching and selection team.
Still train twice a week most weeks (on my way there in a short while) and will have a few minutes off the bench this weekend or the next to ease back in. Not in the greatest shape anymore and have gained some size (not all of it healthy) but am still 6ft2 around 95kgs and fastest of the vets.
Nice Xavi, you probably played against Harborn in Birmingham. Not sure if they still around. Could never find a ground to play on or practice, although they put out 3 teams every weekend.
Some really good stories on this String, very enjoyable. Xavi I feel for your folks, you must have run through lots of clothes the year you shot up from 5’ to 6’2”.
5’7” and 175kgs…..hahaha!
Oh God, the Saffex height/weight argument never grows old
@ Moz, poor younger brothers more like. Both didn't get a new blazer throughout high-school I think.
Toughees also made a killing off my parents. Began std9 in a size 6 and finished Matric size 11.
Played 15 and 9 through school.
Have played across the backline as a senior and jumped in the lineout when it was on my wing. 13 has been my favourite position as I've aged.
@King
I don't remember playing against Harborn, but we did play Sutton Coldfield which isn't far away. I think the way the leagues were structured put us in Midlands West South so we played more teams South of Brum.
So great to see how many people on hear fell in love with the game and that you don’t have to be a player or a coach to appreciate and have insight into this beautiful game. One of my closest friends never ever been in a rugby match or let alone on a field but he is one of the most knowledgeable and enjoyable people to talk about rugby. Of course he is a Sharks fan, but very complementary of any SA team and loves talking about the boks.
