Kolisi, Notshe hope to inspire future Boks in Steenberg

Published Sep 26, 2016

Share

Cape Town - Sometimes when famous sportsmen appear at a local school, the kids are star-struck and find it difficult to speak, let alone ask a compelling question.

And that is how things started off when Stormers and Western Province stars Siya Kolisi and Sikhumbuzo Notshe visited Steenberg High on Monday morning as part of the Currie Cup study programme launch, where one of the tournament sponsors offer a total of R250 000 worth of scholarships to schoolchildren.

Some of the queries from the pupils to Kolisi and Notshe ranged from training tips to their personal circumstances as youngsters before becoming household rugby names.

But then one of the boys asked Kolisi, “What do you do to help people in poor communities?” now that he is a Springbok rugby star. It could easily have been an awkward situation for the 25-year-old Kolisi, who hails from Zwide township in Port Elizabeth.

The loose forward, though, is well known for his dedication to a number of social welfare projects off the field, as well as caring for his younger siblings Liyema and Liphelo in Cape Town after they had been in orphanages and foster care in Port Elizabeth following the death of their mother in 2009.

So it was no surprise when Kolisi - who has 16 Springbok Test caps - drew gasps from the 200 Steenberg High pupils when he spoke about some of the things he does off the field. “When I grew up in Zwide, the club that I played for had three teams, but only one set of jerseys. So the one team would play in the jerseys, and once the game was done, the players would take it off and give it to the next team,” he said.

“Then the same would happen when the third team had to play in the same jerseys, which would be quite heavy and sweaty by then! So once I received a bursary to attend Grey High, I told myself that if I make it one day as a professional rugby player, I would save up so that I could buy kit for each of those three teams.

“And I have managed to do that. I bought each team jerseys, tracksuits, shorts and other kit, and I was very happy that I could do that for my community. That is why I hope that I can inspire you guys to want to achieve your best and go all the way to the top in whatever you want to do.

“I worked hard in training and made sure my school marks were good. You’ve got to keep working, as it’s easier to get to the top and harder to stay at the top. I love to inspire young people.”

Notshe, who grew up in Nyanga and attended Nomlinganiselo Primary School, was also handed a scholarship by Wynberg Boys’ High, but gave the Steenberg group an idea of the type of challenges he faced as a youngster.

“I also grew up in a township. Life was hard, but my parents always made a plan and made sure that I had something to eat,” said the 23-year-old No 8, who was born in King Williams Town in the Eastern Cape.

“It was difficult to get boots, but my parents made a plan, although I had to make sure that I looked after it as one pair had to last for a few years. My parents and my people are my ‘drive’ when training and playing rugby.”

Notshe earned his first call-up to a Springbok squad under new coach Allister Coetzee in June, but yet to take to the field for the national team.

Both Kolisi and Notshe admitted that they weren’t aware that Steenberg High had produced a Springbok in former prop Eddie Andrews, and they were hopeful that their visit would lead to one of the pupils to follow in their footsteps.

[email protected]

@ashfakmohamed

Independent Media

Related Topics: