Turning rugby rough-and-tumble into big-time talent, the Connect Sport Academy is helping youngsters in the Western Cape play the game of their lives. Here’s the story of two young stars who are on their way to stardom
Going to explode. I’m so proud of these two kids. This will be one of the greatest sport stories in a few years 😍 pic.twitter.com/2UKYDhh2ak
— Antoinette Muller (@mspr1nt) September 2, 2016
I remember the first time I saw iLitha Ntinini, aka Mister, play rugby. It was a glorious summer evening at Villagers Rugby Club almost two years ago. Mister was playing as part of Connect Sport Academy’s touch rugby team. Mister, and the rest of his teammates, had only started playing rugby a few months before, and it showed.
Although it was clear that there was a lot of raw talent, that talent had been left untapped and unrefined for years. These kids had not had the luxury of years of coaching and development to reach the level of their peers. But Mister was different.
Despite having had little to no formal coaching, Mister was head and shoulders above his often older peers. He was a little perfectionist and the only team member who still had his bright red rugby socks. Mister was cheeky without being arrogant. He could step, despite having never really watched any rugby on TV, and had magical handling skills. And he was not afraid to take on grown men, old enough to be his father or grandfather.
His self-appointed moniker came after Connect’s co-founder, Murray Ingram, entered the team into a mini-rugby tournament some six months before their touch rugby adventures. ILitha had decided that he would be called Mister Number Ten – the position he wanted to play one day. The nickname stuck and we imagine that it will remain for years to come.
A few months after the touch expeditions, Connect began its foray into contact rugby. The more the academy grew, the more talented kids signed up. Akha Mjawule was one of those kids. As with Mister, Akha’s raw talent was evident from the start. He’d hardly watched rugby on TV and never played formally before, but he was clearly a student of the game. Whatever his coaches told him to do, Akha would do. It didn’t take long for him to become the best fetcher at the academy.
Both Akha and Mister come from Khayelitsha in Cape Town. Both kids have grown up in challenging circumstances. But both kids have excelled after they were given an opportunity to refine their skills and both are examples of what transformation in South African sport should really be about. Transformation is simply about equal access to resources and opportunities.
Little over a year since Connect first began playing contact rugby, I have seen both Akha and Mister make their debut for Western Province at Under-12 level. It has taken hard work and dedication from the kids and their coaches, but it has been so worth it.
Since the day Mister decided that he was destined to become a world-class fly half, he has trained like he is one already. He is more committed to training than anyone else in the academy. He can do 15 pull ups without breaking a sweat, and while he’s playing centre at age group level for WP, that’s a pretty good place to start if you want to be a flyhalf.
Akha, meanwhile, is a ball of energy and one of the best fetchers we have seen at junior level. The first time after his coach tights him to steal at the breakdown, he made three steals in the next match. No wonder his nickname is Hand-off!
Having seen these kids progress has been a blessing and having seen them being given the opportunity their talent deserves is great. But while we are sure that we’ll have their backs for as long as they want and need it, it’s a bittersweet victory.
Most of Connect’s players come from within a few suburbs of each other and when, in such a short space of time, two talented youngsters shine so brightly, I often wonder: how many other such talents have we missed?
Until we no longer need to answer that question, we have to continue to strive to transform South African sport.
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