Horison rugby legend talks about tries, conversions and regrets

Frank ‘Boetie’ Branco, a legendary rugby player, has never once let go of his love for rugby and till this day

Frank was born on the 10th of August, 1936, and grew up in Roodepoort. He talked about his younger years, where they played in the area with marbles in the streets and sometimes also had to use the marbles to shoot birds for food for the day.

He attended the convent in Roodepoort and recalls his dislike for playing the piano and academic studies. The convert never allowed the learners to participate in the rugby sport, for they did not believe in it, so Frank played soccer instead.

The nickname ‘Boetie’ was given to him from his next door neighbor, Curly Jacobs, and was from that moment known as Boetie Branco.

He started his high school years at Hoërskool Krugersdorp in 1950. That was the year when he first started playing rugby, and quickly became one of the best. “The first time I played rugby, I did not plan for it, I went to watch the u.14 B rugby team. During the game one of the players got injured, and Mr Visser just looked at me and asked me can I play rugby, well I said I never played before, but that I will. So moments later, barefoot, I am on the field playing. Suddenly the ball gets passed to me, I just stood there and asked what do I do now. Everyone just yelled run, so that’s what I did. I ran straight to the posts and I scored the first and only try for the match. I also converted the leather ball barefoot from the halfway line. We won 5-0 that day against Helpende Hand. After a couple of days the coach came to me and told me he want me on the team, so I started playing rugby.”

Frank was also chosen for the first team in Grade 10 and was also elected as captain of the first team in his high school years. He also held the 100 m Hurdles record for 15 years and was also awarded with the Senior Victor Ludorum and the Cadet sword of honour, in the year 1954 when he matriculated.

After school he continued playing for the Rand Leases rugby team,where he was the captain, and later on played for the Roodepoort Rugby club, where he was the only Portuguese rugby player in Transvaal. In 1961 they won the Pirates Challenge Trophy and he was, for six years, known as the top points scorer. ” I was coached by Martin Pelser, the first springbok captain who went overseas, where he would get me on Sundays and he would drill me to run up and down on the mine dumps.”

Later on in 1963 he was invited to the Transvaal trials and was chosen on the selectors shortlist. But after a sad back injury on duty, Franks dreams came to an end. Once he could not really play anymore, Frank became a coach at the Roodepoort Rugby club and years later at the Strathvaal Rugby Club in Stilfontein, where Felix du Plessis coached with him.

He was the first Durban Deep inter-mine coach to include quota player’s viz. Oshkosh (Ox), September and November who were learner officials that was an instruction given by Jannie Le Roux, who was the Transvaal Rugby President at the time.

According to his daughter, Charmaine, Frank has a spontaneous sense of humor, for example, “My mate, it is not Christmas everyday” is the words he use when a player knocks the ball on the way to score a try.

“Overcoming adversity of not playing for Transvaal was my biggest challenge and yet I experienced a miracle of being able to use my skill, talent and knowledge to coach. Rugby is in my blood and I did not leave rugby, rugby left me. I shared my passion with all 15 players in my teams, they were like sons to me.”

“One day you will tell your story of how you overcame what you went through and it will be someone else’s survival guide”, Frank concluded.