Changing face of Blue Bulls rugby

Published Aug 20, 2009

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Any rugby scout returning with a profile of young Blue Bulls lock Mthunzi "Fudge" Mabeta and waxing lyrically about his exploits as a lineout specialist would probably lose his job on the spot.

At 1.99m, 104kg, a love for hip hop and rap music, a wool of disorganised dreadlocks on his head, jeans half way down his lower torso and a disciplinary record that includes being found guilty of indulging in the "holy herb", Mabeta is everything that the rugby world warns promising players not to be.

But Mabeta is the new face of rugby in an ever-changing South African society which is a melting pot of multiracial cultures and religions.

At the same time Mabeta possess all the attributes needed to survive in the tough world that is Currie Cup rugby to become a success.

One only needs look at Mabeta's past to realise that there is something special about him.

He is typical South African boy at heart though, born of a Xhosa father and a American mother and his dream is to become a Springbok.

Mabeta might talk the lingo and act in a manner which has earned him "street cred" and made him a hit among his peers but it is his rugby credentials that Mabeta easily talks about.

He also has no fear of showing the talent that has made him achieve at all junior levels of rugby.

"He is a line-out specialist and he will be the guy we will be looking to, to steal the opponents ball and win his own lineouts. He is a mobile guy and always makes his tackles and likes to get involved in the drives.

"He is more than capable of making the calls and taking charge in the lineout," said Bulls coach Frans Ludeke of Mabeta earlier this week when he named Mabeta in the Blue Bulls starting line-up to play against the leopards on Friday.

While Mabeta is reaching new heights as one of the rising stars of Blue Bulls and South African rugby, it is his background that Mabeta attributes his rugby success to.

"I wouldn't be where I am if it wasn't for where I come from. The Eastern Cape is a rugby nursery. That is where I learnt the game," Mabeta joked on Wednesday as he spoke about his days at Queen's College Junior and Grey High School.

"I played B-team rugby at Grey and only played first team in my matric year at Pretoria Boys' High," Mabeta said.

Indeed, it was in his final year at Boys' High School that Mabeta's rugby talent came to the fore as he played for the first team, made the Blue Bulls Craven Week side and secured his junior rugby future with the Bulls.

The rest as they say is history.

Mabeta's rise has been meteoric playing for the SA under-19 side, two seasons in the Vodacom Cup which included two finals and a trophy while he was an instrumental figure in the all-conquering Blue Bulls under-21 side which swept all aside last year.

Mabeta made his Currie Cup debut for the Bulls in 2008 in a match against the Lions at Ellis Park.

His goal now is to one day hold down a permanent place in the Bulls team and be counted among the best locks to come out of Loftus along side the likes of Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha and many, many others.

It is Mabeta and players like Zane Kirchner, Akona Ndungane, Bandise Maku, Burton Francis, Heini Adams Tiger Mangweni and John Mametsa that are proving that change is happening and that true rugby talent does exist in all spheres of South African society.

To prove that the face of Bulls rugby has changed, they go into tomorrow's Currie Cup clash against the Leopards at Loftus with six players of colour in their midst, namely Mabeta, Kirchner, Ndungane, Maku, Francis and Adams.

As much of a culture shock it has been watching Mabeta's growth at the Bulls and them accepting him, it will even be a greater shock when rap is played at Loftus the day Mabeta scores his first try.

Who would have thought that the next best lock to come out of the lock factory would be a dreadlocked Xhosa kid born of an American mother!

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