CHRIS FOY

London

MOURITZ Botha calls it a “long road”. It has certainly been a convoluted one – his painstaking journey from Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal, to the England team via part-time rugby and asbestos-stripping in Bedford. Not the most conventional background.

When the 30-year-old Saracens lock came through the full 80 minutes of his adopted country’s 13-6 Six Nations victory over Scotland at Murrayfield last Saturday, it marked another giant stride towards personal fulfilment.

He has had to take more strides than most. From rejection in his native South Africa for being too small, to redundancy and relegation in his first year living in this country, Botha is not one of those players whose elevation to Test status appeared pre-ordained from a young age.

His circuitous route to the top was an enforced consequence of being denied opportunities at home. “I was told that I’d never make it as a rugby player in South Africa,” he said. “At 105kg, I was too light to succeed in the second row at the Stormers (the Cape Town-based Super Rugby franchise).”

His response was to send e-mails to several English clubs, seeking employment. Bedford Athletic got in touch and convinced him to try his hand in National League Three North, only for them to drop out of that division at the end of Botha’s first season in 2004/05. As he resolved to enhance his work ethic in rugby terms, it was also tested in other environments.

“The carpet washing was the most difficult job I did,” he said. “It was crazy hours and not something I really enjoyed. There was a tumble dryer about three metres high. I dried the carpets and then you had to roll and fold them. I would do about six tons a day, which was brutal. The shift was from six in the morning until two in the afternoon. Then I had to go home, have a nap and go to training.”

From carpet-cleaning, Botha had a stint stripping asbestos from houses in the Bedford area. He displayed the commitment which has since characterised his development as a player.

His boss at B&W Waste Management Services, Marcus Buckle, said: “Asbestos stripping is hardcore work ... it is far from the glamorous life a lot of rugby players lead, but he never complained.”

Before he joined Bedford Blues in 2006 and played the game full time, the three seasons he had at Bedford Athletic didn’t make him a living so he had to earn it elsewhere. But even then he harboured dreams of an England call-up. However far-fetched it must have felt at the time, Botha felt that his dedication would earn its due reward.

“I always believed I could get here, I always had a deep-down belief,” he said, ahead of England’s trip to Rome to face Italy today. “But it doesn’t count for much as you have to convince a lot of other people that you can do it and that takes time.”

England’s interim head coach, Stuart Lancaster, has set much store by the honour and privilege of playing for the national team. Amid concerns about a perceived rise in money fixation among the country’s top players, Botha encapsulates the values of the new regime.

“I played until a couple of years ago for next to nothing and every time you put a shirt on, be it for club or country, it’s just a proud moment of joy and pure satisfaction,” said Botha. “Money doesn’t matter.”

That much was evident when it came to the major turning point in his career – clinching a contract at Saracens in 2009.

Haggling over a salary didn’t even occur to him. Having heard via Facebook that the Hertfordshire club were in the market for a lock, he made his pitch. “I think I said, ‘Today is the biggest day of my life and career and to be sitting here so close to actually achieving that is a massive opportunity and one I really want’,” recalled Botha.

“Morne du Plessis (former Springbok captain) was there and when I left the room, Brendan Venter (the then director of rugby) asked him what he thought. He said he didn’t know much about my rugby, but he would sign me because I wanted it so much. That is what swayed them.” – Daily Mail