The South African Rugby League (SARL) national team, The Rhinos, will soon be jetting off to Sydney, Australia, on tour.
Four players from The Bears Rugby League team, who are based at the Elsburg Rugby Club grounds, are part of the 15-man squad.
Andries van der Merwe (25), Rudolf Prinsloo (25), Ronald Botes (27) and Marcel Viljoen (23) are excited to be representing their country on the tour.
The Germiston City News caught up with van der Merwe and Prinsloo, who live in Elsburg and Tedstoneville, respectively.
Van der Merwe said the tour is taking place in preparation for the Rugby League World Cup qualifier, in which they are due to play later in the year.
“If we qualify it will be the first time in over 10 years that South Africa will be taking part in the Rugby League World Cup,” van der Merwe said.
This year’s competition is being hosted jointly by Australia and New Zealand.
Both van der Merwe and Prinsloo have been playing rugby for many years.
Prinsloo plays centre and van der Merwe second row.
They play both Union and Rugby League.
Prinsloo has been playing Union Rugby since his u-9 days and Rugby League since 2005, while van der Merwe started playing Union Rugby 13 years ago and Rugby League four years ago.
The Rhinos’ tour to Australia takes place from April 21 to May 6, and Prinsloo said they are looking to gain great experience from it.
“The tour is going to build us up for the World Cup qualifier, as we will train with super league teams and play two international matches and one friendly,” he added.
The opportunity to play the three games in Australia has allowed SARL to invite five SA-heritage players, based in Australia, to join the SA-touring squad and thus strengthen the squad with expertise.
Their games will be broadcast live on television in Australia.
Rugby League is a 13-man code of rugby which Prinsloo described as a lot faster and continuous, with more running.
Prinsloo, a life orientation teacher and coach, has been part of The Rhinos since 2009, while Ekurhuleni maintenance coordinator van der Merwe made the team for the first time last year.
In order to make the team, the players need to be selected for their provincial team, in their case the Eastern Eagles, and from there they are selected to attend trials for the national team.
Prinsloo said that every year players need to go through this process, as their place in the national team is not guaranteed.
Training for The Rhinos takes place in Pretoria and they practice about three times a week.
“I think leading up to the tour we will start to practice at least four times a week,” said Prinsloo.
When they are not playing and looking to relax, Prinsloo loves to go fishing and van der Merwe enjoys outdoor activities, gym and indoor cricket.
In order to make the tour a reality for van der Merwe and Prinsloo they are looking for sponsorship of R15 000 each.
Some of their costs will be paid but they both still need R15 000 to cover airfare and visa costs.
They are appealing to local businesses or individuals to assist them.
If you want to help contact van der Merwe on 076 565 0483.
“We are looking forward to the tour and believe that we will have a good result,” van der Merwe said.
