Emirates Lions player and Greenstone resident, Courtnall Skosan, is a humbled man with a big heart – not to mention a talented wing.The NEWS caught up with him to talk about rugby, the Lions’s current wave of success and his inclusion in the SA ‘A’ squad.
Skosan will run out onto the field for the SA ‘A’ squad in Friday’s game against the Saxons in Bloemfontein.
Courtnall said his career has not always been rosy and he had to work hard. He also almost left rugby a few years ago.
“Four years ago I left the Bulls. My career was not going so well after joining the Bulls and I felt I was not good enough for the game. I considered leaving the sport and starting my own business – I have always dreamt of owning a business. But God has been good and opened another door for me,” said Courtnall.
Speaking about the necessary qualities to pursue dreams he said, “It is easy to give up, especially as a young player. They leave high school and want to continue with the sport but opportunities are not available. When they leave school there are no opportunities for them especially if they have never made it to the Craven Week team or Academy team – I faced the same challenges because I never made it to any of those teams,” said Courtnall.
“My faith is important to me and played an important role in my life – keeping the faith has always helped me to continue working hard,” said Courtnall.
Like most players he had a role model, a player to look up to.
“Bryan Habana has always been my role model. I even collected his posters from a young age and I always looked up to him. I was encouraged to push myself to do well in rugby. He has achieved a lot in his life and you never see or hear any bad publicity about him. He is a true inspiration,” said Courtnall.
Speaking about Lions coach Johann Ackermann and his appointment as coach of the SA ‘A’ squad, Courtnall described him as an amazing coach.
“He is a man of faith and a family man. That makes him understand and work well with players. He deals with players in an amazing away. He understands emotions and that makes it easy to talk to him as he has an open door policy,” said Courtnall.
Being included in the SA ‘A’ squad has been a major highlight of his career thus far.
He hopes being included in the squad will lead him to the Springboks and if the opportunity arises for him to be selected for the national team, he will take it one day at the time.
He said rugby has grown and the Lions Super Rugby tour to Japan earlier this season was evidence of that because people knew the players.
“The tour was amazing, even though we were only there for four days it was surprising to see how rugby has grown in Japan. People asked us to take photos and sign autographs and that showed that we got support. That was a highlight for me on the tour – to see how rugby has grown,” said Courtnall.
Courtnall shared words of encouragement to school rugby players – words that speak of hard work and making sacrifices.”Keep on having the faith, keep on believing and work hard because that would set you apart from the others. Also do mental preparation. When friends are having fun you would have to make sacrifices because being a professional rugby player has its challenges. If you start being dedicated now, it makes it easier when you reach your goals,” said Courtnall.
Today’s match, the first of two against the visiting Saxons, kicks off at 7.10pm at the Toyota Stadium.
Watch the full interview with Courtnall Skosan below:
