Springbok player Bongi Mbonambi. Picture: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images
The second episode of Castle Lager #TheGranBoks featured Bongi Mbonambi‘s grandmother.
Granny Themba spoke about Mbonambi’s childhood and his journey thus far. She said he was a quiet and shy boy when he was young.
“He would speak when necessary, but he would not talk too much,” said Granny.
She also said that Bongi usually visits her when he is around, adding that she is proud of the man her grandson has become. Granny said her Springboks’ player grandson has inspired many young boys who look up to him.
“Even at church, there are many kids who want to play rugby because of Bongi. I am proud of him, and I know South Africa is proud of him [too]. We want all of the Springboks to succeed,” she said.
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Bongi will lead the Springboks as they take on Romania this Sunday, 17 September, in Bordeaux for the team’s second Pool B match of the Rugby World Cup 2023.
He is amongst the four scrum halves, including Cobus Reinach, Jaden Hendrikse, and Grant Williams, whom Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber announced on Wednesday.
In a statement, Nienaber said people were surprised when he picked four scrum-halves in the squad.
“But we knew they offered us the skills and versatility to provide backline options to manage the challenges that tournament rugby gives you,” he said.
“They are all excellent scrum-halves, but Grant and Cobus can play wing and Faf has experience at No. 10 — as do Cheslin and Willie. We have the same versatility among our forwards,” he added.
The Coach also highlighted why he believes he made the perfect pick for the highly anticipated match. He said the team had been rotating and testing players in different positions since last season, to put together a group of 33 players in France that are closely matched in terms of their quality of play and skills.
“Grant played school rugby on the wing, and he has come on at wing before for us, so we are excited to give him this opportunity to start there and for him to gain international experience in the position,” Nienaber said.
“Faf is also one of our backup flyhalves in the squad, and the same applies to him, as it will be valuable for him and the team to get some game time in the position,” he added.
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