To follow the bounce, the mysterious, unpredictable, ever-changing force that defines the essence of rugby, is to follow your heart. And for Dillyn Leyds, kicking and scrumming around with his brother and a few buddies in a backyard in Strand in the Western Cape, that meant following a dream that must have seemed impossible at the time.
He wanted to wear the striped jersey, run onto the field at Newlands, and hear the roar of the crowd as he scored for Western Province. And of course, he wanted to be as great a player as his hero, the WP, Stormers, and Springbok wing, Breyton Paulse. Sometimes, dreams do come true. Sometimes, the ball does bounce your way.
As a flyhalf for the DHL Stormers and Western Province, Dillyn feels the pressure when he gets called on to take a kick – “it does get tough when every single pair of eyes in the stadium is on you” – but he deals with it by taking a deep breath and thinking back to that starry-eyed little boy in the backyard.
While Dillyn believes he still has a long way to go to live up to people’s expectations, he proved his prowess by scoring a try in his debut game against the Blue Bulls at Loftus, and shining in the lineup of the Baby Boks who beat New Zealand in the 2012 Junior World Cup.
After a stint in Super Rugby and National Rugby in Perth, Australia, Dillyn is back home and ready to follow the bounce. Wherever it may lead, he’s in for the game of his life. Dillyn took time out from training to chat with David O’Sullivan, as part of our close-up and personal series on the DHL Stormers and Western Province players who proudly sport the BrightRock logo.
Transcript:
DS: Dillyn, thanks so much and welcome to the BrightRock team.
DL: Thanks for having me, David.
DS: You’ve been with Western Province through the various age groups. Tell me about the kinds of changes, as you do the step-up from one age group … One level of rugby to the next. What does it take out of you as a player?
DL: I think, playing schoolboy rugby and making the Western Province team is pretty special. Once you sort-of leave your schoolboy side and you don’t have to worry about going to class anymore and other things that can side-track you from putting all your attention on rugby, you realise that it can become a very challenging profession to be in. And I’m going through – as you said – under 19, under 21 and then slowly but surely making that step-up to senior Western Province sides … You realise that you have to be more professional and sometimes the knocks that your body could take when you were 18, 19 years old take a lot longer to heal. So it’s been a good couple of years, coming through the ranks and hopefully it can just continue and get better.
DS: I would imagine that the knocks get heavier and harder as you progress. Emotionally though … Do you feel added pressure from schoolboy rugby versus playing for the Stormers where you’ve got TV cameras on you. There’s a global audience now – not just a few thousand people at the side of a school rugby field.
DL: Ja, I think 100% … Some guys … It can make or break you with the media and social media and those sort of things. But I personally tend to not try and lean too much into those sort of things. Like, the one week you can score two tries and be the hero and the next weekend miss a kick to the pole and then those people that were cheering you on the week before are now against you … So definitely, emotionally things can get out of hand as well, but I think that’s what comes with the sport.
DS: Because you’re the fly half, you’re the man tasked with taking some of those pressure kicks. How do you adapt to that pressure, that attention on you when you know it’s all about you, failing or succeeding?
DL: You know, some guys love the pressure and love those pressure moments, and others just buckle. But I think the most important thing is just to try and mentally block out everyone and just make it easier for yourself, you know. What I like to do is, while I kick, just get that picture in my head of myself when I was a little boy kicking in the back yard, kicking the ball around with friends and my brother. So it makes things a little easier, but I’m not going to lie – it does get pretty tough out there when you know every single pair of eyes is on you when you’re taking that kick.
DS: Can you block out a crowd? A stadium crowd?
DL: I think it is close to impossible. But you try your best. I think you … Every now and then you do get a little side-tracked. I mean … To concentrate for 80 minutes is a tough job, but even now and then you do get side-tracked, but I think blocking out a crowd is a tough job, but I guess it’s just part of the job and something you have to do when you’re going to handle those pressure situations as well.
DS: When you were a little boy kicking the ball around in your back yard in Strand, did you have your eye on playing for Western Province, playing for the Stormers?
DL: Definitely. Growing up in Cape Town and being so passionate about wanting to play rugby … It’s every boy’s dream. When you’re growing up and you’re throwing the rugby ball around … I was always just running around trying to do flip-flops like Breyton Paulse did. My mom wasn’t very happy because she was quite scared I might break my neck or do something stupid, but you know, you watch those guys play week-in and week-out on the television and that’s all you want to do, growing up. So I’m very lucky that I’m one of the fortunate ones to be able to live out my dream, and still very young.
DS: When you were playing with your brother, did you adopt the personalities, the personas of Western Province players? Were you Breyton Paulse?
DL: I was always Breyton Paulse, just so that, if I score I can do a little flick-flack. Ja. But I still haven’t managed to get it right yet.
DS: What was it like then, for you? Because you had this ambition to play for the Stormers and for Western Province since you were a little boy … What was that moment like when you were told you were going to make your Currie Cup debut for Western Province against the Cheetahs?
DL: It was a pretty rushed week. The Monday morning I left Perth and got in to Cape Town and it was … I hardly had any sleep and I went straight to the training ground and when … Actually on my way to the training ground our team manager – Chippie (Solomon) – told me our fullback Cheslyn is injured ‘and you’ll be playing next week’. And I didn’t expect that – I couldn’t get words out to say to him ‘what’s wrong’ or ‘is there no-one else’, I was just so happy that I was coming in and my dream is sort of becoming a reality. Running out that day in Bloemfontein was pretty special.
DS: Dillyn, you had a significant change in your life when you decided to go and play rugby in Australia, in Perth for Western Force. What prompted you to make the break from South Africa?
DL: I think I personally just needed change. I wanted to get away and experience something new – I’m a type of person who loves change and I thought going to Australia would be a good thing for me. I knew guys who were leaving to go to the Western Force as well, so I thought it would be a good challenge for me and to see where I’m at in my rugby, to go and try and play rugby in a different country. So I think it was a good change for me, going to Perth and playing for the Western Force I came back a little bit bigger and a little bit smarter in rugby terms and I think it’s only benefited me as a young guy, going over so soon. And then coming back and then to be given the opportunity to play for the Stormers as well, I think has done a great deal for me. So I was pretty happy changing and getting out of my comfort zone, so I would definitely advise any young guys who want to do the same to definitely go ahead and take that step.
DS: Do you say you love change because you can adapt easily … Did you adapt easily to Australian living?
DL: I do love change, yes, and I think it’s good for any person to change, to have a bit of change in their life, you know. I think if things aren’t working for you, you’re not going to get anywhere by sticking to the same routine. So changing things up and mixing it up a little bit is perfect and that for me I think was the best decision I could have made. I think adapting to a city like Perth is very easy, because it’s similar to Cape Town in so many ways. The family that took me in was very welcoming and they still keep in contact with me and it was really a home away from home for me. I had guys over there that I played rugby with in Cape Town before, so that made the change that much easier as well.
DS: Was it difficult coming back to South Africa after having made the decision to go to Australia in the first place?
DL: It was, definitely. A tough decision because obviously I played a couple of games for the Force and I started to find my feet a bit and I was really wanting to stay on and further my career at the Force, but like I said earlier, it’s always been a dream of mine to play for Western Province and the Stormers, so when that opportunity came, I think I could never say no to it and I think I was ready to come back as well. I learned a lot of things over there, experienced different people, learned a few things rugby-wise, so for me coming back to the Stormers and Western Province was a good thing and I’m definitely not regretting that decision to come back.
DS: How had you changed. Still physically you obviously got bigger, didn’t you?
DL: Ja, I think my time off the field, I spent a lot of time in the gym and got bigger. Got a little bit faster as well, so that for me was a good thing. The way they train over there is so different from how we do things over here, so that was a change for me as well and trying to adapt to that was good. But, changing me as a person, I think, I just … I saw what life was like in a different country as well, different experiences for me. So I came back … I wouldn’t say much more mature – because I still like to have a little bit of fun every now and then – but I could just see things in a different perspective to what it was when I was still living in South Africa and playing for Western Province.
DS: And as a rugby player, you say you’re faster … Bigger in terms of the way you play the game. Did it change that?
DL: I don’t think so. I have always been a sort-of free-running … Trying to get the ball somewhere type of rugby player and I think that’s one of my biggest assets. I think I’m an attacking … So the way I play over there and the way I’m playing over here currently in South Africa … I don’t think anything has changed.
DS: Dillyn, you were earmarked for success when you were a youngster playing for Bishops. Have you lived up to expectations … Your personal expectations?
DL: I think it’s been a good start, so far. I think obviously, personally I’d like to go on and achieve higher honours and it all comes with playing good rugby for the DHL Stormers and Western Province, so personally for me I don’t think I’ve lived up to expectations just yet, although people would tell me different … But obviously, personally I have my own goals and my own ambitions, so I think I still have a long way to go to living up to those people’s expectations of me.
DS: If you look at your career so far, are there particular moments that stand out in your own mind? Games, moments that you particularly relish?
DL: Definitely. I think the three biggest highlights of my career would be when I made my Stormers debut last year against the Bulls at Loftus, and I managed to score a try as well. So that for me was a very special moment and then in 2012 I was part of the Baby Boks who beat New Zealand in the 2012 Junior World Cup. And also just the whole 2015 season with the Stormers for me was … Every weekend that I got an opportunity to pull that jersey over my head was very special to me. So the 2015 season was great, and it’s come to an end now, so I’m hoping for bigger and better things in 2016.
DS: Dillyn, it’s been an absolute pleasure chatting to you. Thank you very much. And we wish you all the best for 2016 and I hope with that BrightRock logo on your jersey you’re going to go even faster than ever. Thank you.
DL: Cheers.
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