Rugby stars in the making

School rugby coach Braam Pienaar believes that the exposure that Adolf Mphahlele, Keith Foto and Martin Machubeni will gain playing in the AfrAsia Bank sevens tournament could give them the chance to pursue their professional rugby dreams. The three Highlands North boys join a combined squad from Gauteng, of which Pienaar is the appointed coach, at the tournament in Grand Bay, Mauritius, where they will play against players from all over the world, including the Mauritian national team.

“It’s a great opportunity for these kids – it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Pienaar, who thinks his star players have the talent to make it in the competitive world of professional sport.

Mphahlele, Foto, Machubeni and Pienaar will travel to Mauritius courtesy of a number of private sponsors funding their participation. Having been identified as some of the school’s most valuable players and selected for the tournament, the boys were expected to help organise their own sponsorship with help from Pienaar and parents at the school. Sadly, one of the four boys originally chosen is unable to travel to Mauritius after his planned funding fell through.

While the team is due to be away between 7 and 14 October, the tournament itself will last five days, of which three will be spent training. During that short period, the Gauteng team will play together for the very first time. But Pienaar believes the talented pupils will not take long to find each other on the pitch and learn to work together.

“Rugby is 30 percent training and 70 percent natural skills,” he added.

If the boys play well enough, the tournament will offer them unprecedented visibility in the eyes of rugby scouts. According to Pienaar, at schools such as Highlands North Boys High, where soccer is a more popular sport than rugby, such opportunities are few and far between.

Pienaar is confident, however, that his charges will perform at their best.

“With hard work and determination, anything is possible,” he said.