Young cubs get Lions colours

Three Grade 7 Laërskool Fontainbleau pupils take rugby seriously. Through hard work and dedication, Wiehann Theron, Sebastine Watney, and Joshua Jooste have been awarded their Golden Lions attire.

Flyhalf Sebastine Watney (13), who was chosen to play for (and captain) the U13 Lions team at the Craven week tournament, has been playing as long as he can remember. “My dad inspired me to play rugby and my hero is Jean de Villiers.” Watney aspires to study at Stellenbosch University where he’d like to play rugby. He’d eventually like to play for Western Province and ultimately, the Springboks.

Scrumhalf Wiehann Theron (13) was introduced to the sport by his brother who is eight years his senior. “I decided at the age of five I wanted to play rugby. I just love it. I hope to play it until I die.” He also plans on making his way to the Springbok squad but he hopes to play for the Lions first.

Fullback Joshua Jooste (13) didn’t play a lot of rugby when he was younger. “I played a bit of ‘bulletjie’ rugby and I told my dad that I wanted to play seriously. I love kicking the ball or making a tackle and hearing the crowd cheer.” Jooste would be happy to play for the Springboks or the All Blacks. He explains further, “The All Blacks have really good hands. They don’t just focus on tackling rugby. When they’re losing they always have a comeback.”

Of any international player, the students unanimously revere New Zealander Shaun Johnson and feel his skills are exceptional.

All three of the boys credit their coach, Johan Kotzé for how he has mentored and coached them. They all feel he has given them the best possible guidance and that their rugby has improved for it.